Leave Love to Fate
by Lenica
Summary: Angelina and Alicia are obsessed with finding Katie a new boyfriend to get over her disastrous affair with Oliver Wood. When blind dates and set-ups fail, will someone prove to Katie that love can be more than just the occasional shag? Katie/Marcus. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: It's been a while since I last wrote anything for this site. I hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I enjoy writing it. Please R&R if you have the time!

Disclaimer: None of the characters depicted in this fanfic (except Clarice) belong to me - they are all products of J.K. Rowling's imagination.

* * *

**LEAVE LOVE TO FATE**

If one normally asked what Katie wanted the most, she would probably name the newest, fastest broomstick, or perhaps ask to get a promotion in the ministry department she worked at. However, right now, Katie just wanted to survive the night without screaming like a mad woman, or strangling the balding wizard in front of her.

Her life had been going alright, until her friends (damn them) had decided that Katie needed some romance in her life. Since her last disastrous fling with Oliver Wood, Katie had sworn off men. Unfortunately for her, Angelina and Alicia were not going to take her oath lying down because to be sure, a woman has wants. So they had wheedled her into going on not one, but five dates. And Merlin, did she want to kill them.

Her first date, George Weasley, had seemed much more interested in finding out all he could about Alicia. That had been months ago. Now Alicia and George were dating and annoyingly soppy when around each other. Katie would have been happy to wash her hands of romance and stick to the single life with the occasional shag, but Angelina had played the marriage card. It had been at a slumber party that Alicia had ducked out of since she was having "her own sleepover" at George's place (his words, not hers).

"Katie, you've got to start thinking about your future. A nice shag every once and then is all very well, but we're nearing our thirties." Angelina pointed out.

Katie grimaced as Angelina finished painting her finger nails Gryffindor red. "We're nowhere near 30, Angie."

"Well, you know your internal clock is ticking," Angelina said cheerfully.

Katie rolled her eyes, "So what's your point?"

"I think you should find a sweet guy, someone who you know will be there for you."

"You mean like how Fred is for you?" Katie asked dubiously.

"Exactly," Angelina said, marvelling at her nail painting abilities.

Katie sighed again. She knew that if she disagreed Angelina would never let up. There was a reason Oliver had left captaincy to her.

"Fine, Angie."

Angelina pumped her fist in the air with victory, "I already set up a date with Roger Davies."

"Roger Davies?" Katie managed to choke out. "The man who will shag anything that has two legs and a chest?"

"Katie, he's not that bad," Angelina chuckled.

"Angie, he shagged half of the female population in our 7th year. Don't you remember any of that?"

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure he's changed. He seemed eager enough to try going on a date with you."

And so Katie had been stuffed into a dress which was a bit too risqué for her liking. And as she had expected, all Davies wanted was to get into her knickers. He rushed dinner, pretended not to hear her protests about their lack of dessert, and ignored her hints about it being late. Bloody hell. He even had the gall to say that he hadn't wanted to see her female bits anyways when she finally blasted him with a rejection.

The rest of her dates had been so mind numbingly boring that she couldn't even remember their names anymore. Except Percy. Merlin, the man was more boring than a stick - going on and on about cauldron bottom regulation. Katie hoped that it had just been a joke suggested by the Weasley twins otherwise her best friends were really beginning to lose their minds. And now, she was sitting in front of a man who could've been her father because Alicia had declared he was a sweet gentleman who was looking for a nice girlfriend. He was nice enough, but even the thought of getting in bed with him was making her cringe – and not just mentally.

"Are you alright?" Her date asked with concern.

Katie managed a tight smile, "Oh I'm fine; just bit my tongue."

"Do you need any water for that?'

"No, I'm fine thank you."

The two lapsed into silence. Katie twisted her hands, playing with the napkin on her lap. She was just about to break the silence with a comment on the weather lately, when her thoughts were interrupted.

"Katie Bell," A baritone voice drawled with a mixture of scathing amusement and delight.

Katie's ears pricked, and the napkin she had been playing with slipped onto the floor. She swore inwardly. This was turning out to be a fabulous night. It was only her Gryffindor courage that propelled her to look up; confirming her miserable suspicions.

"Marcus Flint," She nodded coolly at the large figure that towered over her, her cheeks reddening. He was dressed not in dress robes as she had expected, but in a sleek muggle suit. And he had decided to accessorize with a buxom blonde wearing barely a scrap of clothing. Marcus raked his eyes over her body, sneering, then looked pointedly at her date, as if to say, "Really, is that all you can get?" Katie's face turned even redder, this time in both anger and embarrassment.

"School friend?" Her date asked pleasantly, smiling warmly up at Flint. His smile wavered when he received a sneer in exchange. However, instead of showing his displeasure, he merely launched into pleasantries. Alicia hadn't called him a gentleman for nothing.

"How do you do?" He raised his hand to shake Flint's.

Flint lowered his hand as though it pained him to do so, barely making contact with her date's fingers.

"Yes. Katie and I were great friends in school," He smirked, then seemed to remember, "Ah, by the way, this is Clarice."

"Eet ez nice to meet you," She shot Katie a look of disdain, pulling slightly on Flint's arm.

"Nice to meet you too," Katie replied shooting her her own look of disgust.

"Anyways," Katie stood up, grabbing her shawl, "I think it's time for us to be leaving. Have a nice dinner." She swept past them without a backwards glance.

Katie's date looked embarrassed. He apologetically shrugged and followed her out of the building pausing to bid goodnight to the two of them.

"Oh don't worry about that," Flint shot a salacious grin at the blonde, "I think we will."

He flushed, increasing his pace.

Katie was leaning against the wall outside, her shawl clutched against her tightly.

"Not quite good friends as he claimed?" Her date leaned against the brick wall beside her.

Katie laughed, "No, not quite. We were from rivalling houses."

"I see," Her date timidly gripped for her hand as if to comfort her.

"I'm sorry Donald, I don't know what my friends told you but I'm not really looking to date right now." She said apologetically as she quickly extricated her hand from his.

"That's alright," He replied, backing off quickly, "It was nice having dinner with you all the same. Would you like me to escort you back to your flat?"

"No," Katie shook her head, her curls slipping out of the sleek coil Angelina had created. "I think I'll be fine. I just want to stand outside for a while."

"Alright," he said reluctantly, "Give me a call if you ever change your mind about dating." With that, he disapparated with a pop.

Katie leaned against the wall, warily keeping an eye out for Flint. She silently watched couples walk out of the restaurant, feeling a bit lonesome. Her arms trembled as the cold began to take effect. Small pinpricks rose on her skin. "I'd better get going home," she muttered. She drew her shawl against her tighter and disapparated from where Donald had stood less than fifteen minutes before.

The sight that met her when she opened the door to her flat was not a pleasant one. Both Angelina and Alicia were sitting on her couch, clearly waiting for her to spill how her night had been. Katie groaned, kicking her heels off.

"How was it?" Alicia bounced on the seat, "He was really nice wasn't he?"

Katie sighed and pulled a tub of Florescue's ice cream from her freezer. "I suppose so."

"That's good. How was dinner?"

"Dinner was alright I guess," she said dully.

"What did you eat?"

"Lobster linguine and salad," Katie shrugged as she collapsed onto the sofa.

"Oh come on Katie," Angelina frowned, "It couldn't have been that bad."

Katie shot a withering look at Alicia, "You failed to tell me he's an old man. He looks older than my father. Bloody hell, Flint must've thought I'd gone and gotten myself a sugar daddy or something."

Angelina's eyebrows shot up, "Did you just say Flint?" She scowled. Of all of them, Angelina harboured the deepest dislike for the Slytherin players.

"Yes, he dropped by our table with his little mistress." Katie scowled.

"Clarice?" Alicia asked knowingly.

Katie looked at Alicia in surprise, the spoon stopping mid-air. "How'd you know?"

"George was raving about this Clarice woman the other day," Alicia grimaced, "Seems she was looking for some products to liven up a party for Flint. Plus they were talking about the two of them in Witch Weekly."

"Huh," Katie frowned. When had Flint become the subject of well-known magazines?

"What did Flint do anyways?" Angelina steered the conversation back to her date.

"Nothing really," Katie scowled, "He was just ... Flint."

"Complete arse then?"

Katie grinned for the first time since she arrived home, "Complete."

"Oh well," Angelina leaned back into the couch, "I guess Donald was a failure then. Interested in dating anyone in the quidditch league right now? I'm sure I could set something up."

"Uh, no. I think I need to stay away from the dating field right now. I've been having horrible luck."

Alicia nodded understandingly as she chewed on chocolate frog, "Yeah I guess."

Angelina disagreed, "But if you don't keep going, you won't find the right guy!"

"I think I'll just leave it to fate for now." Katie shrugged.

"Fine," Angelina sighed, "But you'll regret it."

Katie scowled and threw a pillow at her head.

"Hey!"

Alicia started laughing.

Soon after, Angelina joined in. Katie smiled, but she wondered: would she ever find someone who could erase Oliver from her mind? She sighed as she spooned another heaping spoon of ice cream in her mouth. Well, she set her mouth firmly; she was going to throw her fate to the wind.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: It's been a while since I last wrote anything for this site. I hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I enjoy writing it. Please R&R if you have the time!

Disclaimer: None of the characters depicted in this fanfic (except Clarice) belong to me - they are all products of J.K. Rowling's imagination.

* * *

**LEAVE LOVE TO FATE**

Sunday morning hit Katie like a freight-train. The three of them had stayed up until 4 in the morning gossiping about nothing, and everything. She was the first to wake up, and hurried to brush her teeth before Alicia claimed the bathroom for hours.

Angelina stirred in her sleep as Katie tiptoed out of the room.

Katie sighed. Her makeup was still on from last night, and her hair felt disgusting. All the hairspray she had used had left her bed hair in what seemed to be a permanent state of disarray. She dragged a comb through it, but gave up after a few minutes, choosing to pull it into a tight ponytail.

"Katie," Alicia's voice drowsily came through the door, "Can I brush my teeth yet?"

"Give me a minute."

Katie quickly brushed her teeth, and performed a spell to remove the remains of the mascara and foundation that caked her face. She felt much better, and much more capable of taking on the day than she had a minute ago.

"Morning," she smiled cheerfully at Alicia who had been leaning against the wall with her eyes closed.

"Morning," she grumbled.

Katie laughed. Alicia was the worst when she first woke up. It always reminded her of their days on the Gryffindor quidditch team when they had practices in the early mornings.

Angelina was still sleeping when Katie began to make pancakes in her small kitchenette. It was the smell of blueberry pancakes simmering on the frying pan that finally woke her up.

"Morning Katie," Angelina said groggily as she rubbed her eyes.

"Morning," Katie grinned at Angelina. She turned on the wireless on top of the stove.

"Smells good. Any of those have my name on them?"

"Sure. By the way, feel up to going to Diagon Alley today? I feel like shopping."

Angelina nodded, "Let me just apparate back to my flat to throw on something decent."

"You can borrow something if you want," Katie said, flipping another pancake expertly onto the plate next to her.

"Yeah, but I need to get my keys to my safe at Gringott's," She explained.

Alicia walked back into the room, her hair looking wavy from the braids she had had them in the night before. "Morning, the pancakes smell great."

"Thanks," Katie grinned at her, "Need some coffee?"

"Please," Alicia dropped onto one of the seats at the kitchen table.

"Feel like going to Diagon Alley today?" Katie repeated her question to her other best friend.

Alicia nodded, "Sure. I feel like buying some new dress robes. George said he had some gala to go to soon."

"Right," Angelina nodded, "Thanks for reminding me. I should probably get a new pair too."

Katie turned back to the stove, but to be honest, she felt rather left out. The two of them were always talking about the twins, and could completely relate to one another. When they shot each other looks of exasperation, Katie felt oddly out of the loop. Why couldn't Mrs. Weasley have had triplets?

"Anyways," Angelina said, stuffing a pancake into her mouth, "Gotta get going."

"Me too," Alicia stuffed one into her mouth as well. "We'll be back soon."

"Bye," Katie frowned as her last pancake burned black, "Well, so much for that."

She turned off the stove and made herself a cup of tea. The noise from the radio faded into the background as she gnawed on her pancakes thoughtfully. Hopefully the shopping would keep her mind off of all the horrible dates lately. Maybe she could even pick up a good looking sales clerk or something. As her thoughts returned to shopping, she heard two pops in her living room.

"We're back, Katie!" Alicia sang as she walked into the kitchen. She looked like she had spent several hours on her appearance rather than 15 minutes with her cornflower blue dress and light makeup.

Katie grimaced as she realized what a state she was in. Her face looked decent, but the rest of her was clad in baggy sweat pants and an oversized t-shirt from the Wizarding Weeze's 5th anniversary celebration.

Angelina also trooped in, carrying a large red tote bag that matched her shirt. "Come on, Katie. The day's a wasting."

Katie made a face, but obediently went back to her bedroom to rummage around for some clothes. She finally decided on just wearing a white tank top and a pair of jeans with her running shoes. _No one to impress anyways_.

"Ready," she grabbed her purse from the entrance where she had left it the night before.

The three of them spun and disapparated, reappearing just outside of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Morning, Tom," Angelina breezed into the bar, followed by Katie and Alicia.

"Morning. Can I get you anything today?"

"No thanks, we're just passing through."

They passed through the bar, ignoring the stares Angelina got from the younger men sitting at the bar. As a renowned quidditch player, it wasn't uncommon for men to ask for her autograph, or for a date.

"Hate it," Angelina scowled as they stood before the wall that hid Diagon Alley, "I absolutely hate it."

Katie patted her on the back sympathetically. She had heard Angelina rant for hours about the stupidity of the male population. "Everyone knows you're with Fred now, at least."

Alicia nodded, "Don't worry about it. Just try to ignore them."

"I know," Angelina scowled as she rested her fist on the wall, "It's just hard. Fred isn't overly jealous or anything, but I know it's hard for him."

"You'll feel better after we start shopping Angie," Katie said as she and Alicia wrapped their arms around her.

"Thanks," Angelina smiled wearily. After a moment, she straightened and proceeded to tap her wand on the bricks.

The pathway opened to reveal the alley which had captivated Katie since she was a young girl. Even now, there were so many things to see. She couldn't help grinning at two little boys arguing about broomstick stats.

"I'm going to go to Gringott's first. Want to meet up somewhere?"

"Well you and Alicia need to get dress robes. We might as well get those later," Katie replied, "We can go look at some other stuff in the meantime."

Alicia nodded, "I want to check out this new store that opened."

Katie raised her eyebrows, "What kind of store?"

"Don't worry, Angie knows which one I'm talking about."

Angelina grinned, "Yeah I do. I'll meet you there in thirty minutes or so?"

"Sure," Katie nodded, as Alicia began walking towards the newer area of Diagon Alley.

"I've really wanted to check out this store," Alicia said with a grin.

"Really? Is it a new quidditch store?"

"No," Alicia giggled.

Katie soon learned why when Alicia paused in front of a two-storey building. The first floor was Madame Malkin's dress robe's store, but the second floor … "Merlin, you're kidding me."

"Nope!" Alicia said cheerfully, "She just opened a new part of her store."

Katie blushed as they walked up the staircase to the second level.

"Hello," A tall woman with long red hair smiled at the two of them, "Welcome to Madame Malkin's Lingerie."

"Hi," Alicia grinned back at her.

Katie's grimace turned to one of slight interest as she discreetly looked around. The store was not as gaudy as the sign outside had suggested. It was a tasteful little store with displays of sexy, but playful baby dolls, nightgowns, etc.

"If you ladies don't know, we're having a sale for the rest of this week," the red-head leaned against the counter, "If you buy one set of lingerie, you get the second set free."

Alicia looked at Katie hopefully, "You want to buy a pair and I'll buy one? Then we can split the cost."

"Sure," Katie shrugged, as she examined the wall furthest away from the door.

For a few moments the two of them were silent as they browsed the different shelves. However, the silence was soon broken when Alicia started sniggering.

"What?" Katie asked, looking at Alicia in bemusement.

"There's a collection with different Hogwarts crests."

Katie laughed as well when she saw them.

"Dare you to get a pair," Alicia's eyes glinted in amusement.

"I'll take that dare," Katie grinned back as she looked at the display.

"Dare you to get the Slytherin pair," Alicia began laughing again.

"Fine. Are you going to get the Gryffindor ones?"

"Yeah, I don't think George will want me to get the Slytherin ones," Alicia said examining the crimson lingerie. "It's about time for Angie to meet us downstairs. You want to pay?"

"Sure," Katie nodded as she brought her purchases to the counter.

"Nice choices," the saleswoman smiled, "The colours will look great on the two of you."

"Thanks," Alicia smiled at her.

"Do you want these wrapped?"

"No, that's fine. Just put them in a bag."

"Have a nice day."

"You too."

The two of them clambered back down the stairs and entered the main shop. Little had changed since they were Hogwarts students buying their first dress robes for the Yule ball. A few people were browsing the ready-to-wear section, but it was still too early for the store to be very busy.

"Angelina's here already. She's at the back," Alicia pointed across the room.

"Angie!" Katie called out.

Angelina smiled at her two best friends, "I see you two bought something. What did you think of the store Katie?"

Katie rolled her eyes as Alicia giggled. "It was alright. I like what I got at any rate."

"And what did you get?" Angelina grinned at her.

"Some Slytherin lingerie," Katie said calmly.

Alicia sniggered from behind her when Angelina's eyes widened. "Let me see!"

Angelina ducked down and plunged her hand into the bag. She held up the lingerie in amusement, "Maybe I should get something like this to freak Fred out."

Katie sniggered as well, but grabbed for the bra she was holding. "Put that back in the bag, Angie."

Angelina grinned and shook her head, "No can do. Catch, Alicia!"

Alicia backed away several steps and caught it. Katie jumped upwards as the two of them threw it around. Her face was red. Some of the shoppers were looking at them oddly. She could even see a little kid pointing their game out to his mom.

"Cut it out guys."

"Fine," Angelina tossed it one last time, but in her merriment, threw it a bit too far. It slid across the floor tile and stopped behind a man's shoes.

Katie glared at Angelina, "You are totally going to go get that."

"No way," Angelina said, lifting her hands in protest, "It's not mine."

Katie looked at Alicia for help. Her face was red from trying to contain her amusement. She sighed. Stupid friends.

She tried to sneak up on the person who was standing in front of her bra so that he wouldn't notice what she was doing. Unfortunately, he must've been more perceptive than the average wizard. At first, she thought she was successful when she grabbed at the Slytherin bra quickly. However, when she heard him clear his throat from above her, her feelings of relief changed to embarrassment. _Fuck_. She looked up. _Double fuck._

"If it isn't Katie Bell."

Katie sighed. Fate really had it in for her lately. "Hello, Flint," she said as civilly as she could manage.

"What are you doing on the floor?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing," she muttered, slightly surprised that he didn't mock her for being on the ground.

He smirked when he noticed the green silk in her hands. "What've you got there, Bell?"

"Nothing," she repeated hurriedly as she balled it up even more. When she figured she had it hidden enough, she got up, brushing her jeans with her other hand.

He stepped closer to her and with surprising strength, tugged it out of her hand.

"Slytherin?" He chuckled, "I didn't know you were this into us. Been fantasizing about me lately?'

Katie made a disgusted face and gagged, "In your dreams, Flint."

Flint smirked again, "I'm a hundred times better than that old geezer you were with yesterday."

Katie scowled, but before she could open her mouth to retort, Angelina butted in.

"Flint."

"Johnson," he nodded back, "Where's Spinnet?"

"Here, Flint," Alicia leaned against one of the racks.

"Guess I'm going to have to back off then. Wouldn't want to be chased down by the three of you."

"Nice," Angelina said dryly in reference to his allusion to their past, "And we'd better get going before you bowl Katie over."

Flint's surly expression turned into a surprised grin that revealed that his teeth had been straightened since their Hogwarts days. "You're not so bad, Johnson," he nodded at Alicia, "I'll see the three of you around." He turned and sauntered out of the store, patting his pocket.

"That was interesting," Angelina remarked somewhat perplexedly.

Alicia shrugged, "He has to have reformed a bit. He donates a lot to St. Mungo's now."

"It's probably just to put on a front," Katie said with a scowl.

"I don't know. His mom's been in there since the end of the war," Alicia frowned, "I've seen him around when I'm on medi-witch duty."

"Hmph," Angelina shrugged, "Well I'm with Katie on this one. I think Mr. Slytherin is just putting on a front. Remember when he tried to knock our Katie off her broom?"

"I guess," Alicia said reluctantly.

"Anyways," Angelina changed the subject, "We should grab some lunch. We can come back here later."

Katie nodded. She was famished.

As the three of them walked out of the store, she suddenly noticed that her hand was empty. Where was the bra that they had been throwing around? Her mind mentally went over the encounter with Flint. _Damn_, she realized. The pervert had stolen her bra.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: It's been a while since I last wrote anything for this site. I hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I enjoy writing it. Please R&R if you have the time!

Disclaimer: None of the characters depicted in this fanfic (except Clarice) belong to me - they are all products of J.K. Rowling's imagination.

* * *

**LEAVE LOVE TO FATE**

Katie scowled as she spun the Slytherin boy shorts on her index finger. That stupid Flint; where did he get off of stealing her bra?

Angelina and Alicia had completely forgotten the incident by the end of their shopping spree, but Katie sure hadn't. And now that she was home alone, she couldn't keep the scowl from slipping onto her face.

She sighed and tossed the lingerie onto her laundry pile. She flopped onto her bed and pulled her photo album off of the night table beside it. It always cheered her up to look at their old photos from Hogwarts. She hadn't looked at the album for almost a year now.

Little Alicia and Angelina waved up at her as she flipped to a photo of their first quidditch game together. As she looked at their unkempt hair she smiled. Not that much had changed since the first time they really became friends.

She flipped the page. The rest of the quidditch team stood together, Harry Potter proudly standing in the middle. That was the year they had finally won the quidditch cup. She turned the page, unprepared for the next photo.

Oliver. His shining face as he held the cup, flashing an intense smile at her. Katie's heart clenched in pain as his grey eyes met her chocolate ones. It was too much to bear. She threw the book at the wall with a thump.

Angelina and Alicia had taken weeks to get the truth out of her when she had first dumped him. She had been a complete mess; eating chocolate ice cream for all three meals of the day, and lying on her bed looking blankly at the white walls.

Even now it hurt. It hurt to remember the years they had been together. He had been so secretive just before they broke up, but she had naively suspected that he was just planning how to propose to her. However, when she had gone to surprise him early at his Puddlemere practice match, she felt her insides shred into a million pieces. He was kissing Parvati Patil, reporter from the Daily Prophet.

"Bastard!" Katie screamed at him as tears streaked down her face. She had never felt so ashamed or desolate in her life.

"Katie," Oliver shoved out of Parvati's embrace quickly, "Katie you're early."

Katie ignored his pleasantries, screaming incoherent words at him.

Oliver protested and held his hands up defensively, "It's only been a few months, baby."

Katie sputtered, her sight blurry with tears.

"Oliver Wood I am fucking through with you!" Katie screamed at him, finally managing to string together a full sentence.

She stormed off the pitch, spitting at Parvati as she did so. To her satisfaction, her spit hit her target and the spittle trickled down the surprised reporter's cheek.

Katie sighed as she remembered what had happened. She pressed a hand to her forehead and felt her stomach churn. That had been just over a year ago. Soon after her confrontation, Parvati had been interviewed by Witch Weekly, where she had ecstatically declared that she was pregnant with Oliver's child. It was then that Katie had gone on rampage; sleeping with men left and right, trying to force Oliver out of her head. Only in the last four months had she finally gotten a grip on herself.

The telephone rang, jerking her out of her somber thoughts.

"Hello?" Katie answered dully.

"Hello Kate," her mum's soothing voice traveled through the phone.

"Hi mum."

"How have you been lately, dear?"

"I'm fine. My boss at work has been keeping me busy lately."

"That's nice. It's always good to feel useful."

There was a pause.

"How's your love life been lately, dear?"

Katie rolled her eyes. Her mum had been pestering her since her breakup. "It's been fine, mum."

"Find a keeper yet?"

Katie sighed heavily into the phone. "Not yet mum, but I've been on a few dates."

"Well that's nice dear, but your father and I are getting old. It would be so nice to have some young ones around the house."

"Mum, I'm only 23!"

"I know Kate, but it's not like I'm getting any younger."

"I'm not going to settle for some random guy just so you can spoil our children."

"Don't be so grouchy. I just want to see how you're getting on." Katie knew her mum was pouting. "But Kate dear, do bring a date to our Christmas party this year."

Katie sighed again. Her parents were fiends when it came to Christmastime. They would throw a lavish party every year, and invite relatives, friends, and even friends of friends. It was one big nightmare for Katie. Aunts pinching her cheeks and asking how old she was, cousins showing off their engagement rings …

"I'll think about it mum."

"Alright dear, you do that. The party will be on the 24th this year. Your father and I are thinking about going to America after for New Years."

"Okay, I'll remember."

"Oh, the cookies are about done. I have to go take them out, Kate. Do drop by soon. I love you."

"Love you too, mum."

Katie slammed the phone down a bit harder than necessary. _Mum has always had the worst timing_.

Katie grimaced and dragged herself to the washroom to brush her teeth. It was only 8 pm; early for sleep, but she didn't want to be conscious any longer than necessary. She dragged the toothbrush across her teeth vigorously, and spat in the sink, pretending it was Parvati's face all over again. It made her feel slightly better.

She pulled off her jeans and tank top and slipped into her favourite flannel pajamas. With one last glance at the photo album that still lay in the corner of the room, she turned off her lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

* * *

Marcus Flint was adjusting his dress robes in the men's room at an expensive Parisian restaurant. He looked at his reflection one last time, then stepped out of the lavish washroom.

"Marcus," Clarice purred, as he returned to their secluded table by the bay window of the restaurant.

"Clarice," he drawled back.

Though he had never told anyone, Clarice was the daughter of his mother's dearest friend. It had been their greatest desire for Clarice and Marcus to get married, and it was a desire that Marcus had promised to see through.

Clarice wasn't all that bad, but she could be bloody boring sometimes. As an ex-Beauxbatons student, she was poised and very lady-like, though she admittedly did tend to dress like a whore. In his opinion, the worst part about being engaged to her was her annoying habit of submissiveness. As a Slytherin, he enjoyed a challenge every once in a while, and delighted in taming spitfires into passionate lovers.

He sighed, setting his chin on his palm as he watched her eat. His eyes caught on her generous chest, which reminded him of her best quality: she was lovely in bed.

Clarice smiled in amusement when she noticed him staring, "We can do whatever we want when we are done eating, Marcus."

Marcus flashed her a saucy smile, "I know Clarice, but you're such a temptress."

Clarice laughed. Marcus was really very charming when he wanted to be, though he was not quite as good looking as she had hoped. He was rich, as her mama had said, and like all other men, he seemed to have fallen for her.

"Are you not going to finish your steak?" Clarice asked curiously as she sipped at her champagne.

"No," Marcus shrugged, placing his napkin on the table, "I'm rather full. But tell me, what have you been plotting lately? The house elves keep telling me you're out all the time during the afternoon."

"I'm planning the most delightful charity ball," Clarice bubbled happily, "Your ministry says they will host it."

"Hm," Flint said, trying to sound interested. To be honest, he found politics boring, and much preferred discussing quidditch stats.

"Ah, the minister told me that he has some extra quidditch tickets," Clarice smiled at Marcus, "I know you wanted to go very badly so I asked him to reserve some for you at the Ministry department. You just need to pick them up tomorrow."

Marcus' eyes lit up. It had been a long time since he had been able to watch the sport since he had been taking care of his father's debts and other affairs after his death during the war. "You're lovely, Clarice."

Clarice shot him a very different smile this time, "You could see plenty more of my loveliness if we go home now."

Marcus raised his eyebrows, "Are you so full already?"

Clarice laughed, "No, but I'm more in the mood for other things now."

Marcus smirked and tossed a few galleons on the table, taking her arm in his. "I'm not one to refuse the wishes of a beautiful lady."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: It's been a while since I last wrote anything for this site. I hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I enjoy writing it. Please R&R if you have the time!

Disclaimer: None of the characters depicted in this fanfic (except Clarice) belong to me - they are all products of J.K. Rowling's imagination.

* * *

**LEAVE LOVE TO FATE**

"Bloody hell."

Katie was late. How she had managed to sleep about 12 hours straight she had yet to understand. She scowled as she tugged her despised black heels on.

With a frown, she quickly dipped her hand into the small box she kept above her fireplace and threw a handful of powder into the fire. "Department of Magical Sports and Games!" She cried, stepping into the flames.

"Morning, Bell," Lee Jordan grinned at her from his desk when he saw her head duck through the green flames, "You're running late today."

"Sorry, boss," Katie grinned at him, walking all the way through just before the flames shimmered back to red.

Katie had entered the department just after Ludo Bagman had been sacked. Roger Davies had initially succeeded him, but after being found sleeping with the Minister's daughter, he had been sacked as well (to Katie's good fortune, since he had harbored a grudge against her since their date). Lee Jordan – her co-worker at the time – had somehow managed to sneak in and grab himself the job while no one had been looking. To everyone's surprise, he had done the best job since Bagman, and had even increased funding to the department.

"Need anything done?" Katie asked, hanging her coat on the coat rack behind the door.

"Well, more coffee would be nice, but that isn't your job," Lee scowled, "I can't wait until the new secretary gets back from vacation. I haven't had a decent cup in ages. Anyways, I'm going to be at a meeting later today, but the minister informed me that someone will be coming to pick up those last tickets."

"The top box ones?" Katie whistled.

"Yeah, apparently they're a gift for someone or another," Lee shrugged, "But that's beside the point. You mind hanging around today doing paper work until they pick up the stuff? We _really_ need to make sure there are no loopholes in the world cup rules this year."

"No problem," Katie nodded, settling into her desk.

"Alright," Lee nodded at Katie as he pulled his jacket off the back of his chair, "I'll be back in an hour or so."

Katie turned to examine the ever-growing pile of regulations she had to read through. Admittedly, it was just about the most boring aspect of her job, but the boring lists would help take her mind off of her memories of Oliver.

"Morning, Katie."

Katie looked up and met the clear green eyes of the boy who lived. "Morning Harry," she grinned at him, "What brings you to our department?"

"Some idiots have been messing around with the barriers we've been creating for the world cup," he frowned, pulling out a sheath of papers, "Give them to Lee for me?"

"Sure," Katie nodded, "By the way, you coming to the world cup?"

Harry grinned and ran a hand through his unruly hair, "Wouldn't miss it for the world. Everyone's coming. I'm excited to finally be able to bring my son along."

Katie laughed, "Harry, your son isn't even born yet. He's still in Ginny."

Harry grinned and shrugged, "Early exposure will definitely give him an edge."

Katie rolled his eyes, "You're insane, Harry."

It was Harry's turn to roll his eyes, "That's what some people like to insist in my department."

"Just ignore them," Katie smiled at the ex-seeker. "Hm, you're right," she said scanning the papers he had handed to her, "This was pretty stupid."

"Yeah, well Mundungus isn't the brightest wizard there ever was," Harry shrugged, "He thought he'd make a bit of money making his own gate at the back where he could charge people entrance fees."

Katie scowled in disgust, "People like him really wreck the fun of the world cup."

Harry shrugged, "At least we caught him before it happened. Anyways, I'd better get back to work otherwise Kingsley will have my head."

"Bye," Katie smiled a bit mournfully at her ex-team member, "I'll see you at the world cup."

The office felt so alone. It was normally a bustling humorous place when Lee was around to crack jokes and lighten the tension. However, since he had gone for his meeting, she was the only one left. The rest of the people were either helping the aurors set things up at the world cup pitch or on holidays.

She scowled, and began to slowly make her way through the thick sheath of papers Lee had left for her. After an hour of work, Katie leaned back and walked to the water cooler by the wall to get a drink. She fanned herself. The heating was clearly not working; it was incredibly warm.

Katie sighed and propped _Qudditch through the Ages_ against the door to hold it open to increase ventilation as she flapped the bottom of her green sweater.

"Why is it that you're always on the floor when I see you," Marcus leaned against the door frame in exasperated amusement. Unlike Katie, he seemed completely at home with the warm temperature though he was clearly wearing a thick pair of wizarding robes.

"Not in the mood, Flint," Katie replied with a scowl as she straightened her pencil skirt.

"Nor am I. I'm just here to pick up the tickets Clarice managed to get off of the minister."

"Oh, so you're the high roller who managed to grab the last three tickets." Katie commented, slightly jealous.

The jealousy must've been written on her face, since Marcus asked, "Jealous, are you?"

Katie grimaced. "I have my own seats, thank you very much."

She pulled out a pen and a clipboard, "Sign here, will you?"

Marcus grabbed the pen and scrawled his signature across the line. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Katie replied angrily, suddenly remembering her annoyance, "Mind giving me back my bra?"

Marcus raised an eyebrow mockingly, "Rather blunt, aren't you, half-blood."

Katie scowled at his slur, "Shut up. You bloody stole it from me."

"I don't believe I want to give it back," He scowled down at her.

"You have to," Katie whined rather childishly.

"No, I don't, Bell," he said cheerfully, "Finders keepers."

"You are so immature."

"Like you're not?"

"Hello, Flint. What brings you here?" Lee walked back into the office, a large folder under his arm.

He chose to ignore the glares that shot between the two of them.

"I'm here to get my tickets," Marcus explained.

"Ah yes, Katie did you give them to him?" Lee asked, dropping the folder on top of the towering pile on his desk.

"Yes, I did," Katie said through gritted teeth.

"Well," Lee looked sternly at Marcus, "Why are you still here then?"

"Bell hasn't let me go," Marcus sneered at her.

Lee turned to Katie with a perplexed frown. Katie of anyone would do anything to keep Flint away from her. Lee personally preferred him over the little snot Malfoy, but Katie disliked Marcus the most of the Slytherin clique.

"He has something that belongs to me," Katie grimaced. There was no way in hell she could tell Lee what Flint was keeping.

"Flint, I recommend you give it back before Katie blasts you with a curse," Lee leaned against his desk with folded arms.

"I'm afraid I can't," Marcus folded his arms as well; "I don't have it on me."

Katie grimaced. He was clearly doing this to torture her. Or maybe even to blackmail her. Stupid Slytherins.

"Maybe I'll remember to bring it to the quidditch world cup," Flint grinned, his teeth glinting.

Katie swallowed hard. Flint knew she would be there with her arsenal of Weasley friends. He would probably "accidentally" drop her lingerie for everyone to see. Closing her eyes, she chose the lesser of the two evils.

"Fine, you can keep it."

Marcus smirked at her, his eyes crinkled in amusement, "You sure?"

"Yes!" Katie snapped.

Marcus grinned, clutching the tickets in his left hand. "Thanks for all your help, Ms. Bell."

Katie scowled and slammed the door shut behind him.

Lee raised an eyebrow, "Mind explaining to me what that was about?"

"Nothing." She felt like she had said the same line more in the past few days than ever in the rest of her life.

Lee sighed, rubbing his nose, "Fine, Katie, but you really shouldn't go around pissing off the minister's friends."

Katie rolled her eyes, "He's hardly a friend of the minister. It's that Clarice he's interested in."

"Either way," Lee argued, "You're a great worker, and a great friend, but you really need to watch that temper."

Katie blushed, feeling reprimanded, "I understand."

"Good," Lee nodded, "Those Slytherins are bloody annoying, but now we're supposed to be adults. At least that's what my mum keeps telling me."

Katie laughed. Lee sure hadn't matured much since the days when he was an announcer for Hogwarts' quidditch matches.

Her laughter soon dissolved into a groan when he asked "So how much of the regulations have you gone through?"


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: It's been a while since I last wrote anything for this site. I hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I enjoy writing it. Please R&R if you have the time!

Disclaimer: None of the characters depicted in this fanfic (except Clarice) belong to me - they are all products of J.K. Rowling's imagination.

* * *

**LEAVE LOVE TO FATE**

Marcus Flint was peeved. Though he was excited for the world cup that was coming up on the weekend, he was more concerned with his mother's health. He was worried, but primarily aggravated with the crappy job the healers at St. Mungo's were doing when it came to his mother. Their shoddy treatment was obviously at least partially due to his father's position as a death eater during the war. Stupid bigots, he glowered as he stomped down the corridor to his mother's room.

Unfortunately for her, Alicia Spinnet was the healer on call that particular day.

"Hello, Flint," Alicia nodded at him when she saw him come into the private room with a bouquet of wild daisies. She was perched on a stool beside his mother's bed, checking her pulse.

His presence might have worried her during her Hogwarts years, but she often saw him visit his mother nowadays.

Marcus ignored Alicia, and looked at his mother's pallor in concern as he placed the flowers into the vase by her bedstead. Her face was almost as white as the sheets she lay on. She had always been pale, but now she looked almost as if she was knocking on Death's door.

"Why is my mother still not well?" He demanded, not caring that his voice was carrying into the hall.

Alicia sighed and stood, tucking her clipboard under her arm, "I'm afraid that her body is gaining resistance to the constant barrage of spells we've been trying on her."

She pitied Flint. For all that he was a nasty git, he was clearly worried for his mother's health; for good reason, too. Mrs. Flint had been at the hospital for several months, initially showing marked improvement, however, as of late, her strength was sapping away from her.

"Well, can't you do something about it?"

"We're trying to do all we can," Alicia explained calmly, "Our best healers are working on her."

"I don't see Hermione Granger here right now," Marcus scowled down at the blonde, naming St. Mungo's most talented healer.

"Hermione is busy with her own work, Flint. Your mother is not the only one who is ill in this building."

"This is just because my father was a death eater, isn't it?" Flint spat, "You all keep your heads high in the air, pretending you're better than us, but that's all a façade. You're all just sitting around watching her die like it's some boring game."

Alicia scowled at him, losing her temper, "You have no right to say anything like that."

"I say it because it's true," Marcus shouted back at her, "Your bloody hospital is filled with a bunch of bigots with sticks up their asses."

Alicia sighed, feeling drained. She collapsed on the stool she had previously vacated. "Sit down, Flint. Let me get you a coffee or something."

Marcus stood stubbornly though her rapid change in emotion unnerved him, "I'm not sitting until you give me a proper explanation."

"Sit," Alicia repeated coolly, "If you really care about your mother, you will sit your bloody arse down."

"Fine."

"Coffee?" Alicia looked at him, placing her clipboard beside the seat she perched on.

"No. Just get on with the point, Spinnet," Marcus glared at her.

Alicia sighed and looked out the door. No one was patrolling the halls since it was her day to do so, but she couldn't be too sure. She cast a silencing charm on the room, as well as a protego charm to prevent any of the twin's extendable ears from working.

She took a deep breath and spoke, "You were not wrong when you said that some of us disagree with treating ex-convicts."

"You're damn right about –"

Alicia's grey eyes looked steely at his, "I'm not one of them. Nor is Hermione Granger, nor are any of the people I care to associate with, but you need to understand. The head of St. Mungo's lost a son due to the death eaters, and while he can't kick their family out of hospitals, he has been reducing funding. Your mother's treatment has been cut down more than 50% over the last half year."

Marcus looked at her in outrage. "I donate thousands of galleons to this hospital every month."

Alicia tilted her head in acquiescence, "I know."

Marcus looked at her in speechless fury. Dozens of questions were popping into his head at once, but the first that burst out of his mouth was: "Why the hell has it been getting worse lately then if this has been going on for the past six months?"

"I don't know. I noticed her stats becoming weaker in the past few months, but it's normal for our patients sometimes to get slightly worse over time. However," she said, holding his dark eyes with her pale ones, "I asked Hermione to examine your mother when I noticed a significant dip."

"And…?" Marcus demanded, clutching his wool pants in fury. His jaw clenched as he thought of how he could kill the hospital head.

Alicia sucked in a breath, "Someone has been poisoning her with a slow-wearing curse."

Marcus sat on the stool, stunned. Though he had readily claimed that St. Mungo's was persecuting his mother, he hadn't expected that they would go to such lengths to have her killed.

"What kind of curse is it?"

"I don't know," Alicia admitted, "But Hermione saw something of its like when she was working in Brazil. She's been looking into it, but she hasn't been able to find a trace of who did it."

Marcus stood, pacing the floor. "Are you telling me that the bloody hospital that I paid good money to get treatment for my mother is fucking around and trying to kill her?"

Alicia shook her head, "We don't know who's behind it. It could be anyone with a grudge on your family, and to be frank, we all know you have many."

Flint scowled at Alicia's blunt comment, "Don't be a bitch, Spinnet."

Alicia scowled back, "Don't insult your mother's healer."

That silenced him. Marcus looked his mother's emaciated body that lay under the thin sheets. He grabbed her cold hand and squeezed it. _You'll be better before you know it. I'll get that bastard who's been poisoning you. And I'll kill the head of St. Mungo's. _He gritted his jaw in determination.

Alicia sighed when she looked at her watch, "I've got to keep doing my rounds, Flint."

Marcus nodded without turning away from the bed, clutching his mother's hand tightly.

Alicia paused reluctantly, her hand on the door frame. "Don't worry about it Flint. I'll look out for her. As much as I dislike you, I'm a healer. That's my job."

"Stupid Gryffindor," he muttered. Except this time, he didn't quite mean it. He knew that no matter what happened, she would stay true to her word. He sighed as he looked down at his mother's body, closing his eyes in frustration. _I wish I was in Gryffindor_.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: It's been a while since I last wrote anything for this site. I hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I enjoy writing it. Please R&R if you have the time!

Disclaimer: None of the characters depicted in this fanfic (except Clarice) belong to me - they are all products of J.K. Rowling's imagination.

* * *

**LEAVE LOVE TO FATE**

"And I've ordered the most divine white roses," Clarice gushed to her new friend, Parvarti, whom had interviewed her earlier in the month for Witch Weekly.

Clarice had been flattered when Parvati had asked to interview her and Marcus for the popular magazine. It was during that interview that she had found that the two of them had much in common, including an obsession with beauty potions, men, and a whole host of other things. At first, Marcus had been surprised by the Gryffindor's constant presence in his home, but while it continued to irritate him slightly, he kept his mouth shut to avoid annoying Clarice.

His desire to refrain from aggravating Clarice was the unfortunate reason the three of them were sitting in Marcus' parlor, which had not been in use since before the war when his mother used it to entertain guests. It unnerved him that they were there now, and he kept expecting his mother to come into the room dressed in her white robes and long chain of pearls.

"It'll be the best party of the year for sure," Parvati gushed, examining the pristine invitation cards.

Marcus grimaced as he watched the two girls drone on about how great Clarice's first party in Britain would be. He lowered his chin to his palm. Despite how hard he tried to forget what Alicia had told him, his mind kept drifting back to it.

"What do you think of these gold rimmed plates, Marcus?" Clarice pointedly looked at her lover.

He looked up at Clarice and smiled vacantly, "They look good."

Clarice pouted, inwardly scowling. Marcus had not been paying her nearly enough attention lately. It was almost as though he had found another woman. She laughed mentally at the thought. There was just no way. As rich as he was, Marcus was far from good looking enough to find a mistress who could please him more than she already did.

Parvati flipped through the pages of a catalogue that Clarice had picked up earlier from Madame Malkin's dress robes store. "This would look great on you, Clarice."

Clarice moved closer to look at the glossy photo. "You have such good taste, Parvati," she suddenly leaned in confidentially, "For the longest time I worried there would be no one that I would like in Britain."

"Oh?" Parvati raised her eyebrows, flattered. She greatly enjoyed visiting with Clarice, particularly since she could later boast about her visits to the enamored men at her office. It was too amusing to see how they reacted.

"Yes," she continued, her rouged lips pursing into a frown, "Why, we were just at this restaurant where we met this dowdy school mate of yours."

Parvati leaned forward in subtle interest. As a reporter, she couldn't help but be curious, and Clarice always did have the best gossip.

"She was with this old man, and my, she looked horrible! She obviously still does not know how to use beauty spells properly." Clarice chortled.

"Who exactly did you see?" Parvati asked, quickly pressing a hand to the waves she had set in her hair earlier in the day.

"Ah, I don't remember her name," Clarice turned back to Marcus, "What was the name of that witch we ran into on Saturday?"

Marcus looked up, startled to have joined the conversation again, "Oh. That was Katie Bell."

He was about to return to his thoughts, but Parvati's fixed smile caught his eye. It interested him, as he recalled that Parvati had been in the same house as Katie. Though she had had a tendency to pick fights with him, Katie had been rumored to be extremely kind to her fellow Gryffindors, especially the younger students. His curiosity was satisfied when Clarice noticed her friend's expression.

"Do you know her?" Clarice asked carefully.

Marcus hid a grin. Had Clarice been sorted at Hogwarts, she would've been immediately sorted into Slytherin.

"She used to date my fiancé," Parvati shrugged.

Marcus' interest peaked. He knew it! Bell had been shagging Oliver Wood all those years.

"Oh, really?" Clarice put a hand to her mouth, "Well, you are much better looking. He is a lucky man to have gotten you."

Parvati smiled at Clarice, "Well, more like I got him."

Clarice's polite smile widened, "You managed to snag him from under her eyes?"

Parvati laughed, looking slightly embarrassed. Her embarrassment faded quickly, though, when she realized she was amongst people who were rumored to have a great distaste for Katie. "Yes. It took her six months to realize. But I felt so terribly guilty," she added almost as an afterthought.

Marcus highly doubted that. It was clear that she had enjoyed the whole thing, and was proud that she had managed to snag Wood. He looked at his lover surreptitiously; Clarice was clearly enjoying Parvati's story if her leaning and wide eyed stare were any indication.

"Oh no, we women live in a world where the weak get stolen from," Clarice emphasized enthusiastically, "We need to be strong in order to get what we want."

Marcus frowned as he listened to her passionate speech. Though a Slytherin, his high breeding, and formal mother had taught him the importance of honesty in a relationship. Granted, he – like every other normal wizard, was interested in the idea of a threesome, but the idea of supporting infidelity annoyed him. Particularly considering that the woman who had been spurned was the owner of the bra he was currently keeping in his sock drawer.

Parvati nodded back at Clarice, "I know what you mean. But goodness, she was so infuriated. I've never seen anyone cry so much."

"Well, someone always loses out in this world. Especially in the game of love," Clarice shrugged her shoulders unsympathetically, her wavy blonde hair billowing around her.

Marcus frowned. Bell bawling her lungs out? He had expected better of her. Didn't she at least get a few punches in?

"I'm glad I got him in the end," Parvati nodded, "He's really starting to make his mark in the quidditch world right now. It makes being spat at worth it."

Marcus snorted. Wood? The back-up keeper on the Puddlemere United team? He had read in the newspaper that he was really losing his touch, even being threatened with losing his position on the reserve team.

Clarice raised her eyebrows delicately, "The girl spat at you?"

Parvati grimaced in disgust, "She did. The little bitch."

Marcus smirked. Though he wasn't particularly fond of Bell, he had to admit she had guts. And at the moment, he was liking her more than Clarice's new friend whose high pitched voice was getting on his nerves.

"Yes, well, your fiancé is just lovely. He must be happy to have you," Clarice's eyes glinted as she steered the subject away to a more tasteful one, "You really must have him here for dinner sometime."

Parvati smiled, nodding her head emphatically. "Of course. I'll let you know when my schedule is free."

Marcus drifted back into his own thoughts as their conversation returned to Clarice's party. So, Bell was cheated on. This would make for interesting blackmail.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: It's been a while since I last wrote anything for this site. I hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I enjoy writing it. Please R&R if you have the time!

Disclaimer: None of the characters depicted in this fanfic (except Clarice) belong to me - they are all products of J.K. Rowling's imagination.

* * *

**LEAVE LOVE TO FATE**

"I'm pregnant, Harry," Ginny said dryly to her husband, "Not an invalid."

Harry nodded reluctantly as he watched his wife hike up her skirts to climb the hill to the portkey that would lead their group to the pitch.

Katie looked around at the rest of the group, which contained a mixture of excited faces and tired ones. Angelina and Fred were at the head of the group just ahead of Ginny, excitedly tramping towards the clearing, followed by Alicia and George, and his little brother Ron with his girlfriend Hermione.

"How much further?" Ron complained.

Katie rolled her eyes. Fred and George's younger brother was almost as annoyingly whiny as he had been during their school days.

"Not that much further, Ron," Hermione sighed at his impatience, smiling at Alicia who was walking beside her.

"Yeah, Ronnikins," Fred said loudly from the front.

It was Angelina's turn to turn around and roll her eyes at Katie. Katie laughed.

"I saw that, Ange," Fred scowled at his girlfriend fondly.

"You excited Katie?" Harry had swung back to the rest of the group, now reassured by his annoyed wife that she was alright.

Katie's eyes lit up, "Very. It's been so long since Britain's team has been in the finals."

As George and Ron moved forward to wrestle with one another in the front of the group, Alicia turned to Hermione anxiously and leaned in to whisper almost inaudibly, "Flint was at the hospital the other day."

Hermione continued to walk as though she hadn't spoken. "You told him?" She asked calmly.

"I couldn't help it," Alicia protested, "Besides it's his right to know."

Small creases wrinkled her smooth forehead, "I know. I'm not saying what you did is wrong."

Katie ran up behind the two, about to surprise Alicia when she heard Alicia say, "His mother's dying."

Hermione sighed, "Flint is a Slytherin. He can deal with something small like this."

Alicia scowled at the younger girl and argued, "But you didn't see him. He was desperate. He didn't even mock me!"

Hermione rubbed her forehead and lowered her voice to a whisper, "I know that. I've seen him around too you know."

Katie raised her eyebrows skeptically. She remembered Alicia mentioning his mother being in the hospital, but she had figured it was for something minor. She thought back to their last few meetings; maybe his rudeness to her was because of his mother's condition? She shook her head doubtfully. No, he was being his typical, arrogant self.

"He was furious when I told him about the hospital," Alicia said in a low voice.

"Well, I'm annoyed too," Hermione scowled, "I've been rallying people against the whole 'don't treat death eater families' thing, but everyone is being so hypocritical about it."

Alicia sighed, shaking her head, "I always thought St. Mungo's was a place people could rely on, but now I'm not so sure."

Katie frowned. The official story about Flint's mother was that she was just in a coma from shock after the war. Clearly St. Mungo's was trying to cover up as much as they possibly could. And what was this about maltreatment of death eater families? Dozens of questions spun in her head, but none of them could be voiced, since she couldn't admit to eavesdropping.

"I know what you mean." Hermione said in a tired voice, "It's hard. I've been trying to put in my nights to research that curse someone cast on his mother, but Ron's been pestering me about where I keep going off to at night."

Alicia squeezed her shoulder reassuringly, "You'll find a cure. They're always saying you're the smartest witch that graduated from Hogwarts for generations."

Hermione sighed. It was a horrible burden to have that reputation. In school, it had been flattering, but now … people's expectations of her just kept mounting with every job she completed.

"What're you guys talking about?" Katie asked cheerfully, pretending she hadn't heard anything or noticed their dejected faces.

"Oh, just complaining about work."

Hermione smiled at Katie, "Yeah. We work such long hours sometimes. I'm really glad you were able to get all these tickets for us."

Katie smiled back, "No problem. I think we all need a break."

"Hurry up, all of you!" Angelina hollered from the top of the hill where she stood with Fred and Ginny.

The three of them laughed and hurried to clamber up the steep hill and into the clearing.

They were the only group there, but in the middle of the clearing sat an old tomato soup can. It was glimmering a faint blue, and clearly ready to take off at any moment.

"Ten seconds left, everyone," Harry said in excitement, "Everyone have a finger on the can?"

George and Ron barely managed to touch the can on time before they were jerked forward abruptly, landing roughly on the green grass outside the world cup pitch.

* * *

Marcus looked at himself in the mirror, checking to make sure that his chin was clear of stubble. Reassured, he checked the rest of his outfit.

"You look fine, Marcus," Clarice smiled, "How do I look?" She spun, her white silk gown swirling around her.

"Lovely," Marcus smiled back somewhat incredulously. She was wearing an evening dress to watch the Quidditch World Cup?

"Are you going to be done primping soon?" Montague's amused drawl drifted into the room. He was lounging in the sitting area of their bedroom.

Marcus laughed as he moved out of the washroom. It had been a while since he last saw his best school friend. He had missed his sarcasm.

Clarice scowled at Montague. He hadn't commented on her at all since he had arrived at Marcus' home. She had purposely come downstairs in her silk nightgown, but he had barely looked at her, choosing instead to tramp into the room calling for Marcus loudly.

Montague rolled his eyes when he noticed Marcus' new squeeze glaring at him. Women were so predictable. He looked at her silk gown in surprise and raised his eyebrows at Marcus.

Marcus shrugged. It couldn't be clearer that Montague disapproved of Clarice. He had never been into the buxom blonde type.

"Marcus, we should get going," Clarice smiled at him, primping her hair one last time, "It would not do to keep the minister waiting. He has been _so_ gracious."

He nodded silently, but he couldn't help but notice how often Clarice seemed to be mentioning the minister nowadays.

"Ready Montague?"

"I'm excited to watch Britain pound Bulgaria," Montague grinned menacingly, "Now that Krum is gone their team is nothing."

"Let's apparate to the pitch then," Clarice pointedly avoided looking at Montague.

The three of them disapparated with a pop out of Marcus' bedroom, landing on the fresh grass just in front of the pitch entrance.

"Clarice!" The middle-aged minister swept towards the three of them, taking her hand and kissing it with a resounding smack.

Clarice smiled radiantly, "Minister, oh how good it is to see you again."

Marcus noticed that he held her hand a moment too long with distaste.

Montague had clearly noticed too; his eyebrows arching as he looked between the two of them.

"Remind me to talk to you later," He said from the corner of his mouth.

Marcus groaned inwardly. The last time Montague had said that, he had wanted to kindly inform him that Snape had heard him shagging his first girlfriend, "Fine."

It was going to be a long day.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: It's been a while since I last wrote anything for this site. I hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I enjoy writing it. Please R&R if you have the time!

Disclaimer: None of the characters depicted in this fanfic (except Clarice) belong to me - they are all products of J.K. Rowling's imagination.

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**LEAVE LOVE TO FATE**

"And Britain is the winner by 20 points!" The crowd roared in appreciation as the British team swept around the pitch. The game had been spectacular.

"You look stunned," Angelina grinned as they waited for everyone in front of them to get off the stairs that led back down to the ground.

Katie laughed, "Can you blame me? Half of those moves were ones I've only read about in books."

Angelina nodded, nudging Fred forward, "I'll have to get the team to try some of those out."

Alicia sighed, "It makes me miss the days we used to play at Hogwarts."

Katie nodded in agreement, "I know. Maybe we should start an unofficial team for fun."

"For sure," Alicia's eyes lit up.

"We can play in mum's backyard," George squeezed his girlfriend's waist gently. She smiled up at him in return.

They were on the bottom landing when Ginny clutched her stomach, looking nauseas, "I'm going to go to the lavatory before we leave,"

"You okay?" Harry asked his wife with concern, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah," Ginny grimaced, breathing in deeply.

"I think I'll go too," Hermione said, looking at her boyfriend's sister with a concerned frown, "Anyone else need to go?"

"I don't really, but I'm going out later. I might as well go now," Angelina shrugged.

The three of them hurried off to the washrooms that were just by the edge of the pitch.

"Okay," Harry nodded at them, still looking after his wife, "We'll just go look at the souvenirs then?"

"Great idea Harry," Ron said enthusiastically, "I wonder if I can get some figurines to put in my office."

George nodded, "We promised to get something for Bill too, remember?"

"Bloody hell," Fred scowled, "I wanted to go grab a bite to eat."

Katie nodded, "I'm hungry too. Let's go out for dinner after this."

Fred sighed loudly, "I'm hungry now, though."

Alicia rolled her eyes, but eventually gave in to the pout that looked identical to that of her boyfriend's, "Katie and I can go get you something to eat from a vendor if you want."

George protested, "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"It's okay. I don't want your brother to die of starvation."

Fred's pout immediately dissolved into a grin, "Thanks Aly. You'll be such a good sister in-law."

Alicia rolled her eyes again, but this time she was blushing.

As the two of them weaved through the throng of people leaving the pitch, Katie leaned closer to Alicia to ask her about Fred's comment, "You planning on getting hitched any time soon?"

Alicia's face flushed again, "No, Fred was just kidding."

"You sure about that?"

"Yes!"

Katie laughed at her red cheeks and grabbed her arm to pull her through the crowd to the snack trolley. They stepped forward to join the people lined up to get food, narrowly avoiding being smacked by a toddler sitting on his father's shoulders.

Alicia sighed, tying her long hair into a ponytail, "The line is so long."

Katie nodded, fanning her neck with a brochure absentmindedly. She started when she realized the necklace she never took off was no longer around her neck "Alicia, have you seen my necklace?"

"No," Alicia frowned in concentration, "I remember you had it before when we were leaving the pitch though."

Katie bit her lip in worry as she got down on her knees to pat the ground for her necklace. It had been her first anniversary gift from Oliver, and was a quaffle pendant dangling from a thin gold chain. Oliver had saved money for ages to buy it for her, and had surprised her with a candlelit dinner. It was the only thing she hadn't chucked after she dumped him.

"Maybe it came off when we were jostled in the crowd," Alicia suggested, "I'll stay in line and you can go look."

Katie smiled tightly at her best friend, "Thanks. I'll be back soon."

Alicia looked at her somewhat anxiously, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Katie nodded.

"Good luck," Alicia frowned as she watched her friend hurry away, almost desperately back towards where they had come from previously.

"Watch it," An older man scowled at her as she bumped into his shoulder roughly.

"Sorry," Katie muttered, continuing to scan the ground for the gold necklace.

She thought she spotted a flicker of gold on the ground when she banged into a rugged chest head on.

"Sorry," she muttered again, not bothering to look up.

"Katie?"

She backed away from him slowly, the necklace all but forgotten. It felt as though something ugly was churning in her stomach.

"Oliver," Katie nodded at him numbly. It was the first time she had seen him since what she had mentally dubbed "The Incident".

"How are you?" Oliver asked awkwardly, as he shifted his weight to his other foot.

"Fine thank you," Katie said as coolly as she could manage, "And you?"

"I'm good, thanks."

There was an awkward silence. Katie wondered if she could worm her way out of the situation, but he put his arm out before she could say anything.

"Listen," He said, raising his hand to touch her own, "I'm sorry about what happened."

Katie looked at him without saying anything.

He gripped her fingers, his warm ones twining with her clammy ones. She twitched, wanting to pull her hand out from his, but something stopped her.

"You know," He said raking a hand through his shaggy hair, "I've been thinking about you a lot lately."

Katie felt as though she was swimming in a mental pool of muck. She couldn't twitch her hand away from his, no matter how hard she tried, and she couldn't force her mouth open to retort angrily.

"I mean; you're so beautiful, so strong, so witty," he said, almost begging her with his eyes, "And I've missed you."

Katie's mouth opened of its own accord, "I've missed you too."

"We belong together," Oliver said, clutching her fingers more tightly.

"What about Parvati?"

"Well," Oliver said, suddenly looking uncomfortable, "I don't think we're right for each other. We don't belong together. We're nowhere near as great as you and I were."

Katie jolted backwards, pulling her hand out of his. Everything that was coming out of his mouth felt so wrong, so fake, so cliché.

"What's wrong Katie?"

"All of this?" She staggered away from Oliver, looking at the hand he had held. It had felt so right for just a moment. Almost like nothing had ever happened. "I don't understand, we were happy the way we were, but you just went and ruined it. Now you tell me you miss me?"

Oliver's lips tightened into a thin line, "We weren't happy."

"I was happy," Katie cried, gesticulating at herself, "I thought we were going to last forever!"

Oliver lifted the corner of his lip in annoyance, "Everyone always thinks that, Katie. You can't blame me for wandering; our relationship was getting so boring, and then Parvati came along …"

Katie couldn't believe her ears. He had given up their five year relationship because the reporter had been exciting? "I suppose you're saying she tempted you to her bedroom then," Katie spat with disgust.

"Well if you really need to know, yes!" Oliver spat back at her, "I was tired of us, tired of how boringly normal you were. There was no way I could spend the rest of my life with you!"

Katie stumbled backwards, as though he had punched her in the gut. Her chest heaved with the beginnings of a sob.

She vaguely realized that the crowd had dissipated and those who remained were looking at the two of them curiously, some with pity in their eyes.

As tears began to pool in her eyes, she spun on her heel. There was no way she would let him see her tears. He had callously ripped through the barely healed scars he had left. She sobbed, beginning to run. She could barely see anything through the sheen of her tears, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to be alone. She clambered up the stairs of the now empty pitch, folding herself into a tight ball on the edge of a bench.

Her body shook with spasms as tears streamed down her face.

She flinched away when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Go away."

"No," A faintly familiar voice said, keeping his hand firmly on her shoulder, "I'm not one to leave a girl crying when she's all alone."

Katie raised her eyes to meet those of her discoverer. She recoiled slightly when she recognized the rugged face of Montague, a Slytherin player.

If Montague was surprised that his maiden in distress was Katie Bell, he didn't show it. "What's wrong?" He asked, plopping down next to her.

"Nothing," Katie muttered. She did not want to give him a reason to mock her.

Montague groaned as he stretched his arms back, "Oh, come on Bell. It'll make you feel better to tell someone, even if it's a hated Slytherin."

Katie sniffled, but didn't reply.

Montague didn't seem to expect one. He merely looked out on the pitch with unreadable eyes. "Lee and I are bar hopping buddies," he said rather abruptly.

Katie laughed in surprise, "He never mentioned that." She wiped at her eyes. Tears continued to trickle down her cheeks.

"Boy trouble?" Montague leaned back into the seat, still not looking at her.

"What makes you think that?" Katie asked her companion warily.

"Could only be boy trouble, family trouble, or career problems. I know for a fact that you're indispensable to Lee, and I don't think you'd be here if it was family troubles, so it must be boy problems."

Katie looked out at the green field through blurry eyes, "Should've put you in Ravenclaw."

Montague shrugged, "Sorting hat did consider that for a bit, but my mum said she'd skin my hide if I didn't get into Slytherin."

"Hm."

"Want a hug?"

Katie was startled again into laughter. The whole situation was so surreal.

Montague shrugged, "Hey, couldn't hurt to try. It's always nice to get a hug from a beautiful girl."

Katie looked out at the field again, "You don't think I'm ugly?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. She sounded so incredibly needy.

Montague looked at her, "You're certainly not plain."

"Am I boring then?" Katie asked vacantly, not at all sure why she was even asking a Slytherin such questions.

"Now that," Montague said firmly, twirling his bowler hat, "I can definitely say no to."

Katie thought back to Oliver, the tears spilling over again, "Then why did he abandon me?"

Montague looked at her with something akin to pity in his eyes. He had remembered seeing Katie and Oliver happily picnicking by the lake after class and at Hogsmede on weekends. And he had remembered being surprised when he had read about Parvati in Witch Weekly. Not that he normally read Witch Weekly, but his niece had forced him to. "He's a complete arse, that's why."

Katie sniffled again. Montague pulled a handkerchief out of his breast pocket, "Here."

"Thanks," Katie blew her nose loudly.

"Think you're good enough to go find your friends? I'm sure they're worried."

"Yeah," Katie nodded, pulling her tired body upwards.

"Let's go then," Montague nodded towards the stairs.

Katie paused, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Montague looked at her keenly, "Because I think you're a decent person who doesn't deserve to be hurt. Because I resent the person I was when I was younger and want to make up for it. Because I can since I've ditched Marcus and that annoying blonde he calls a girlfriend."

Katie looked at him, her eyes swollen, "You're not a bad person, are you Montague."

Montague rolled his eyes, "Slytherins are not one generic person in different bodies. And I'm certainly not the little bastard I used to be."

"Thanks," Katie said slowly, "For listening to me and for proving that I was wrong about Slytherins."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: It's been a while since I last wrote anything for this site. I hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I enjoy writing it. Please R&R if you have the time!

Disclaimer: None of the characters depicted in this fanfic (except Clarice) belong to me - they are all products of J.K. Rowling's imagination.

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**LEAVE LOVE TO FATE**

"Are you alright?" Alicia rushed to wrap her arms around Katie.

"I'm fine, Alicia," Katie mumbled into her friends hair.

"What the hell did you do to her," Angelina asked Montague fiercely, whipping her wand out of her pocket.

Montague scowled at Angelina, purposely ignoring her wand, "I didn't do anything."

"Yeah, right," She said sarcastically.

"Angie," Katie said using her hand to force the tip of Angelina's wand down, "He really didn't. He helped me out."

"Sorry," Angelina said reluctantly.

"It's fine," Montague replied, looking surlier than before she had accused him.

"What happened, Katie?" Alicia moved away from her to inspect her tear-stained face.

"Nothing," Katie said sighing heavily at the same time Montague said "Wood."

Angelina raised her eyebrows, "What did Oliver do?"

"Nothing," Katie said more strongly.

Angelina looked at Alicia in exasperation. Alicia shrugged and mouthed, "Later."

"So where is everyone?" Katie changed the subject, trying to widen her eyes so that their swollenness was less obvious.

"They went out for dinner at a Muggle restaurant," Alicia explained, "I told them to go on without us since Fred was so hungry."

Montague stood awkwardly, twirling his hat. It seemed to be a nervous habit of his. "Well, Bell," he said stiffly, "I think I'll be going now, Marcus is probably looking for me anyways." He bowed slightly at the three of them and disapparated from the field.

Angelina looked at the spot he had stood with a disturbed expression, "The Slytherins have been acting so strangely nowadays."

Alicia nodded in agreement, but she continued to look at Katie in concern, "Do you want to go home?"

Katie felt numb. She couldn't stand to be alone in her flat; not with all the old memories of Oliver floating around in there. "Not really."

Alicia frowned, "You want to make it a girl's night out? We can go get some food and head over to Angelina's place."

"Sure, I guess."

"We can get some Chinese food," Angelina nodded, "There's a new place that opened near my flat."

"Okay," Katie tried to inject more emotion into her voice.

Alicia patted her shoulder, "Let's get going then. The aurors are going to be cleaning up the pitch soon."

The three of them apparated back to Angelina's posh apartment just outside of wizarding London. She had purchased the apartment sometime following her rise to stardom, insisting that she could not stand one more moment with paparazzi and Witch Weekly reporters swarming her.

Angelina sighed as she opened the door. Her suite was always on the cold side since she didn't like warm weather. She felt a bit bad for Alicia, though, since she was just wearing a thin halter over a pair of shorts. "Want your sweater?"

"Thanks," Alicia said nodding at Angelina. She came over so often that Angelina had basically set aside one of her favourite black cashmere sweaters for her.

"I'll go get the food," Angelina said, grabbing her purse and keys from her bedroom.

"Okay," Alicia grinned at her, "Hope you remember what we like."

Angelina rolled her eyes, "Of course."

Katie smiled at her, and closed the door behind her when she left.

"Phew," Alicia kicked off her sneakers and collapsed on the black leather couch. "Today has been long and intense."

"Tell me about it," Katie said, drearily rubbing her eyes that still were rimmed red.

Katie slid her flip-flops off of her feet and perched next to Alicia.

"So what happened?" Alicia broached the subject again.

"It really was nothing," Katie began.

Alicia directed a scowl at her, "If it was nothing, why are your eyes so red then?"

"I'm not lying. It was nothing, just … final." Katie mumbled looking at the hand he had touched again.

"Oh Katie," Alicia moved over to wrap her arms around her shoulders, "You should be glad to be out of it."

"I know," Katie's voice was becoming choked up again, "I know, but it hurts."

Alicia leaned back to look at Katie's face searchingly, "I didn't realize it still hurt you so much."

"It doesn't," Katie gulped, "I just … don't like to think about it."

"Pretending it doesn't exist isn't going to help, honey," Alicia said brushing her bangs off of her face.

Tears trickled down Katie's face, "But I'm tired of feeling hurt. I just want to move on with my life."

"I know," Alicia smiled at her, her eyes a bit watery, "And you are doing such a good job. It's been only about half a year. You were together for almost 5 years, it's only understandable."

Katie sighed loudly, "I don't like feeling so weak. It's like … every time I look into the mirror, I wonder if there's something wrong with me."

"There's nothing wrong with you Katie. You're an amazing person, and whoever you eventually end up with will be so happy and grateful to have you."

Katie nodded though she didn't really believe that that would be the case.

Alicia summoned the tissue box forward with her wand, "Blow your nose."

Katie blew loudly, causing her to laugh a bit wetly through her tears.

"It's not a weakness to cry about this," Alicia squeezed her friend's shoulder gently, "You know Angie, George, Fred, Harry, all of us are here for you."

"I know," Katie said, gratefully. She swept the Kleenex over her face brusquely.

"Feeling better?" Alicia asked, getting up to grab a drink from Angelina's fridge.

"Yes, thank you Aly." Katie got up as well.

"I'm back," Angelina called from the front hall, swinging the bag of Chinese food onto her marble counter.

"It smells good," Katie said, feeling better than she had since her encounter with Oliver.

Angelina smiled at Katie with relief, "I'm glad you're feeling better, Katie."

"Thanks, Angie," Katie smiled back.

"What do you feel up to doing tonight?" Alicia asked.

"It's been a while since we gave each other makeovers," Angelina mused.

Katie rolled her eyes. Sometimes Angelina could be so girly despite her athletic nature.

"Good idea," Alicia's eyes lit up, "I want to surprise George with my new look."

Katie started suddenly, "Do they know that you found me?"

Angelina nodded, "Yeah, Harry called on his cell phone. It was bloody loud though; Ron kept trying to talk into the phone."

Alicia rolled her eyes, "Some wizards are so out of the loop when it comes to muggle things."

Katie laughed. It amused her that everyone found Ron to be like an annoying little brother. Not that she didn't like him; he was quite nice, really, but he seemed like a younger version of the twins sometimes.

Katie split the disposable chopsticks down the middle and stabbed at a piece of sweet and sour pork. Though she had been eating Chinese food since she was young, she had never gotten the hang of using chopsticks.

"This is good, Angie," Alicia said between bites, "Where did you get it from?"

"A place called the Asian Legend," Angelina nodded, "They're pretty nice there too. Free fortune cookies and all."

"Awesome," Alicia eyed the bag eagerly. She loved sweet foods.

"So you were talking about wanting a makeover to surprise George?" Katie asked Alicia.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I kind of want to try out some spells for waving hair. I don't like sleeping with wet braids at night."

"Nice," Angelina nodded, "My aunt just sent me a book on hair and makeup spells so you can look through it if you want."

"Why did she send you one?" Alicia asked curiously.

"I don't know," Angelina rolled her eyes, "She met Fred once and that was just horrible. I think she thinks I could get a better one with my reputation if I dressed up a bit more."

"That's horrible," Katie wrinkled her nose slightly.

Angelina shrugged, "My aunt is pretty intense sometimes, and Fred did manage to destroy a lot of her fine china."

Alicia laughed, "Sounds like him."

"What are you up to changing, Angie?"

"Don't know," Angelina frowned, "A change would be nice though. Maybe I'll cut my hair short. I've been debating that for a while since it'll be better for playing …"

"That should look nice."

"Hopefully," Angelina laughed mischievously, "You feel up to chopping my hair off, Katie?"

Katie blanched, "No way, Angie. I'm not great with scissors."

Angelina laughed. The last time she had asked Katie to cut her hair was in third year when she had gotten bubblegum in it. Katie had definitely not done the best job. Angelina had furiously spent hours learning how to get her hair to grow back after that.

"I think we should give you a makeover, Katie," Alicia said looking at her friend keenly. "Getting made over always makes me feel like a different woman after a breakup."

Katie pulled on the long curls gently. It was true that she had not changed her hair since The Incident, perhaps because she subconsciously knew that her hair was Oliver's favourite physical feature. She felt a mental stab of pain as she thought about him again, but smiled a bit reluctantly, "I think I should make a change."

"Ever thought of going blonde?" Alicia asked her interestedly.

Katie grimaced, "I don't want to look like Clarice."

Alicia rolled her eyes, "I'm a blonde too you know."

"Yeah, but I always figured the three of us were like a spectrum of hair colours: black, brown, blonde…" Katie trailed off when she noticed Angelina looking at her like she was insane.

"What about red then?" Alicia prompted, "You would look really good as a red head."

Katie grimaced again, "That seems a bit extreme, don't you think?"

Alicia nodded a bit reluctantly, "I guess so; maybe you can just get some nice highlights and lowlights."

"Sure," Katie nodded in acquiescence.

Angelina suddenly reached across the table to grip Katie's hand, "Change is a good thing, Katie."

Katie was surprised that her sadness had been so obvious, "Thanks."

"I feel like watching Breakfast at Tiffany's," Alicia mumbled as she chewed her fortune cookie.

"Chew it, don't spray it," Angelina said wryly, waving her hand in front of her face.

Alicia scowled and repeated, "Want to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's?"

"Not really," Katie sighed, "I'd rather watch a gore-filled movie with zombies and guys toting huge guns."

Angelina patted Katie's hand, "Totally. We could always go out instead … clubbing or something, then go get our hair done after work tomorrow."

Alicia grimaced, "Wizard club? Or muggle club?"

"Muggle, I guess," Angelina replied, "I do not want to have to deal with any fans."

Katie shrugged. She hadn't clubbed for 4 months or so ever since she decided to start focusing on friends, family and work rather than trying to forget Oliver through one night stands and the like.

"Are you sure you want to?" Alicia asked in concern. She of all people remembered the insanity that had ensued after Katie had gone into her clubbing phase.

"Yeah," Katie said nodding rather unsurely. Maybe it would help her forget Oliver. A muggle guy might be just what she needed to permanently forget her ex.


	10. Chapter 10

"Purple tank-top?" Alicia held up a lacy shirt that she had pulled out of Angelina's dresser drawer.

"Too girly for my taste," Katie stuck her tongue out at it, "It would look better on you anyways."

"Really?" Alicia twisted to look at her reflection in Angelina's floor length mirror.

"Looking good," Angelina wolf whistled as she entered the room, a box of more clothing hovering behind her.

"Also from your aunt?" Katie raised her eyebrows at the size of the box.

"Yeah," Angelina rolled her eyes, letting the box drop onto the bed.

"Do you have a skirt?" Alicia asked as she continued to examine the purple shirt.

"Yeah, I have a jean skirt if you want it," Angelina replied, pulling a skirt out of her closet.

"Go try it on," Katie prompted, plopping onto Angelina's plush queen size bed.

"Okay," Alicia grabbed the clothes and walked into the small attached washroom.

"What are you going to wear, Katie?"

"I haven't found anything I really like yet …" Katie's voice trailed off. She had thought about wearing a red dress that Angelina had lent her when she was younger, but the fact that she had worn it to a dinner dance with Oliver had turned her off completely.

Angelina looked at her, tapping a finger on her chin. "I think I know what would look good on you."

She used her wand to slice through the tape on the box, and rummaged through the pile of clothes. "Got it," She pulled hard at a green dress and whipped it out.

The dress was a very simple, short halter dress with a daring dip in the back. It would show Katie's tattoo that she had gotten with Alicia and Angelina of a quaffle and a broomstick.

Katie took it from Angelina's hands a bit doubtfully.

"How do I look?" Alicia asked, stepping out of the washroom.

"You look good," Katie grinned at the blonde. The short skirt really showed off the girl's famously toned legs.

Angelina nodded in agreement, "Hot healer in the house."

Alicia laughed, catching sight of what Katie was holding in her hands, "Nice dress, Katie."

"Do you think will look okay on me?" Katie asked a bit nervously.

"It'll look great, go try it on," Angelina prodded her.

"Okay," Katie bit her lip as she walked into the washroom loaded with the dress, and a pair of gold open-toed heels that Angelina dumped on her.

Katie winced when she saw her face in the mirror. Although she had removed all the traces of tears on her cheeks, her eyes still remained slightly rimmed in red.

As she pulled the dress over her head, she marveled at the softness of the jersey material against her skin. It felt loose and comfortable – not at all like the tight clothes she had worn earlier in the year. It felt more … like her.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled nervously. Her reflection smiled confidently back, stunning in emerald green.

"Done putting it on yet?" Angelina asked as she knocked on the door, "I still have to get my outfit on!"

Katie laughed, but she couldn't take her eyes off of the dress. She looked good – sexy, even. It had been a while since she really dressed up and put effort into her appearance.

"Coming," She called to Angelina who was impatiently tapping her fingers on the door frame.

Angelina did a double-take when Katie opened the door, "You look good in green."

Alicia moved around Angelina to see what Angelina was making a fuss about. She whistled loudly, "They should've put you in Slytherin."

Katie laughed and blushed, "Guys, cut it out."

Angelina rolled her eyes at her, "Just accept it: you look amazing."

Katie whacked her arm lightly, "Go and put on your clothes so we can get going soon."

"Yes ma'am.," Angelina grinned, closing the washroom door behind her.

"Want me to do your makeup?" Alicia offered, "I'll keep it light the way you like it."

Katie pursed her lips, "No, I think I want to be a bit adventurous today."

Alicia nodded approvingly, "Want me to give you some smoky eyes?"

"Sure," Katie shrugged. She felt daring, for some reason. Maybe it was all the adrenaline and drama from earlier in the day.

Alicia carefully rimmed Katie's eyes with dark eyeliner, and silver and brown eye shadow. She curled her eyelashes and quickly coated them thickly with mascara.

Angelina walked out of the washroom clad in Gryffindor red. Her lips shone darkly crimson in contrast with her lightly made-up eyes.

"You look good, Angie," Katie called to her.

Alicia scowled, "Don't move Katie!"

Katie laughed, but stopped quickly when Alicia brandished the stick of eyeliner like a sword.

Angelina grinned at the two of them, moving to stand before them so she could get a better look at Katie's face.

"Good job," she commented as she examined Alicia's handiwork, "Maybe you should open your own makeup artist business."

Alicia rolled her eyes, "Thanks, but no thanks."

Angelina shrugged complacently in agreement as she slid on a pair of shiny black heels.

"Hm," Alicia frowned as she inspected Katie's face. She whipped out a tube of pale lip gloss from her purse and applied it to her lips with her index finger. "Okay, that's great," she grinned, turning Katie to face her reflection in Angelina's mirror.

Katie looked at her reflection silently, turning her face slightly from left to right. She looked great, just different. A tear slipped down her cheek before she realized she was tearing up.

Alicia, who had been watching her, bit her lip. Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to throw Katie back into the dating scene. Maybe recovering at home would have been the better option. "Are you okay Katie?"

Katie laughed a bit bitterly through her tears, "I've been miserable company all day."

Alicia patted her on the back, "It's okay. I was horrible when I broke up with Alex, and we'd only been together for six months."

Angelina nodded, toddling over in her heels to hug Katie, "I can only imagine how it would feel if Fred cheated on me."

Katie nodded; wiping her tears before they could make any serious tracks of mascara down her cheeks. She hadn't felt like such a mess for months. It really disgusted her in some ways – she had always considered herself a strong person when it came to these social things.

"Are you sure you want to go out still?" Angelina frowned in concern, "We can always just stay at home and eat ourselves sick with ice cream."

"No," Katie said determined not to ruin the night for her friends, "Let's go out."

Alicia looked at Angelina doubtfully. She shrugged her shoulders. If Katie said she was fine, she wouldn't appreciate them thinking otherwise.

"Let's get out there then," Alicia said after checking Katie's makeup one last time.

The three of them disapparated from the flat, reappearing in an alley beside a club whose walls were pounding with the sound of heavy bass.

Though Katie had just been feeling a tad on the morose side, the pounding beat reverberating through her bones soon got her pumped to dance. Alicia and Angelina claimed a small area towards the back of the club and hit up the bartender for three margaritas. She downed it rapidly, calling for a shot of tequila.

"Are you sure you're okay drinking so much?" Alicia screamed over the blasting hip hop music.

"Yeah," Katie nodded back. All the alcohol she had consumed after the breakup had improved her alcohol tolerance – although whether this was a good or a bad thing she had yet to discern.

When she finished drinking, the bartender winked and slid another round of shots across the table to them. Katie shrugged at her friends and downed hers quickly. Angelina and Alicia frowned in worry, but followed suite.

Not long later, Katie noticed Angelina climbing onto one of the platforms whooping in amusement as other people ringed around her. She leaned down and screamed at Katie and Alicia to join her. They complied, laughing.

Alicia and Katie shimmied back to back and laughed when someone wolf whistled at them. Normally, they would probably have been a tad embarrassed, but after shooting so many rounds, they were more than a little tipsy.

Katie felt her hand being tugged from the floor. She grinned when her friends raised their thumbs in approval. She jumped from the platform and into his arms, leaning back into him as they ground against each other.

She could see Angelina and Alicia still dancing, rejecting advances from males and females alike. She was proud of them; even under the influence they were loyal to their boyfriends.

Katie sighed as she forgot everything but the music and the beat that thudded in time with her heart. She didn't realize how thirsty she was until one of her dance partners (who had stolen her from her first companion) asked her if she wanted a drink.

She nodded confidently, shaking off the remains of discomfort she had felt through the course of the day, and grinned when he paid for her rum and coke.

"Thanks," she said sipping at her drink as she looked at the blonde she had been dancing with.

"No problem," he grinned back, "You're a pretty good dancer."

"You too," she smiled at him, her eyes crinkling at their corners.

She noticed he was cute. With his grey-blue eyes, messy blonde hair and pierced ear he attracted attention from many of the others clustered around the three sides of the lit bar. She was too busy laughing at something he said to notice that two men were looking at her over the tops of their drinks.

Montague grimaced as he watched Katie down drink after drink. Marcus had dragged him to this club that he had invested in, insisting that it was one of the hottest in muggle Britain. He had agreed only because it would be his only chance to get at Marcus alone.

He knew that Marcus had seen Katie as well, but he had not yet commented. Montague was fully aware that Marcus had been physically attracted to Bell during school, so he wasn't surprised that his slightly inebriated friend was ogling her.

"Want another round of drinks, lads?" The tattooed bartender leaned on his elbow, holding his own glass of alcohol.

:"No thanks," Montague refused, hoping that the women that were lounged around them would go away so he could talk to Marcus privately.

Marcus raised his eyebrows at Montague's refusal, choosing to accept the man's offer, "I need another drink after today. Clarice is angry with me; she nearly dug her nails into my hand when I wasn't "polite" enough to the minister."

Montague scowled. The witch was ridiculous, incredibly flirtatious with every male specimen, and he got the sense that she was nothing more than a gold digger, "Why don't you just leave her? Find someone more compatible …?"

Marcus' eyes were steely when he turned to meet the gaze of his longtime friend, "That's out of the question."

Montague sighed. Marcus was so adamant sometimes. Though he wouldn't explain why he wouldn't just ditch Clarice, Montague got the feeling it had to do with his mother. Marcus had always clung to her since childhood, since his father had always been preoccupied with increasing the family fortune.

Montague raised an eyebrow when he saw the blonde Katie was laughing with turn around. It was Terrence Higgs, an acquaintance from their Hogwarts days. He was infamous for leaving women after sleeping with them. He scowled; Katie had such a way with her – she always ended up dating the complete douches, didn't she.

"Is that Higgs over there?" Montague nodded in Katie's direction.

Marcus squinted, "Did he dye his hair blonde?"

Montague shrugged, "I don't know. I didn't care to keep touch after Hogwarts."

Marcus scowled. He really couldn't tolerate Higgs at all. He had often caught him fooling around with his girlfriends when he was not around. "What's he doing with Bell anyways?"

Montague suppressed a smirk, "Oh I didn't notice her there."

Marcus raised an eyebrow skeptically at his friend, "She's been here the whole time; I'm not that drunk."

Montague shrugged with a laugh, "Just testing you. Wonder why he's at a muggle club."

"Probably the same reason we are; he's got investments in it?" Marcus shrugged trying to act nonchalantly, while he raked his eyes over Katie's revealing dress.

Montague noticed Marcus' preoccupation and rolled his eyes, "Bell looks good in green, doesn't she?"

"Should've been in Slytherin," was all Marcus said though he mentally agreed.

Montague frowned when he heard what Marcus had said; it was far too similar to what Katie had said to him much earlier in the day. He looked at her doubtfully across the dim area and frowned; she looked positively smashed. Clearly she didn't know how to deal with ex-boyfriends.

"I'm going to go rescue Bell from Higgs," Montague said in annoyance as he noticed him staring down the brunette's risqué dress.

Marcus raised an astonished eyebrow, "Do you have a thing for her or something?'

Montague rolled his eyes, "Do I need to have a thing for her to do her a good turn? She's had enough problems lately."

As Montague made his way across to Katie, Marcus mentally ran over what he said. Did Montague know something about Bell that he didn't? The Wood thing had been months ago, so obviously he wasn't talking about that. He started when he noticed Montague approach Higgs, and quickly followed the path Montague had created in the crowd of grinding couples.

"Higgs," Montague nodded when he reached the other side of the bar.

"Montague," Terrence grinned, his teeth gleaming with the reflection of the bright lights spinning from the ceiling, "What brings you here?"

"I've an interest in the club," Montague shrugged noncommittally, "You?"

"Just scoping out a few lovely muggle ladies," Terrence smirked, tugging on his ear piercing.

"Nice," Montague said raising an eyebrow at Katie who was looking bizarrely happy.

"Higgs," Marcus scowled, coming up behind Montague to lean against the bar counter.

"Flint," Terrence nodded at him coolly. He had never forgotten the thrashing Montague had given him after finding him making out with his girlfriend in a broom closet.

"Hi Montague!" Katie grinned at him, sloshing some of her drink down the front of her dress.

Montague raised his eyebrow again, "Where are Spinnet and Johnson?"

"I don't know," Katie said, wrinkling her forehead, "Do you know?" she smiled at Terrence again.

Terrence chuckled, taking another opportunity to check out the little witch he had managed to snag.

Marcus scowled at Terrence, "You know your little friend is Katie Bell, don't you?"

Terrence raised his eyebrows, "So? What's your point Flint?"

"You're associating with Gryffindor scum like her?" He raised a curled lip.

Katie looked between the two of them, vaguely aware that some sort of fight was going on, "Don't be sad, have a drink!"

Montague rolled his eyes at his friend's made up slurs and grabbed Katie's arms to keep her from toppling over, "I think you've had a bit too much to drink."

Marcus laughed, "That's an understatement Montague."

"Where are you taking her," Terrence demanded as Montague began to drag her across the room towards the exit, "We were just beginning to have a little fun."

Marcus sneered at him, effectively blocking him from following Montague, "Keep your dirty hands off of her, asshole."

Terrence glared at him, brandishing his wand.

"As we're in a muggle club, I'd advise you not to do that," Marcus drawled picking up Katie's abandoned glass and taking a swig of it. He walked off, fading back into the crowd of jostling bodies before Terrence could do more than fume.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: It's been a while since I last wrote anything for this site. I hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I enjoy writing it. Please R&R if you have the time!

Disclaimer: None of the characters depicted in this fanfic (except Clarice) belong to me - they are all products of J.K. Rowling's imagination.

* * *

**LEAVE LOVE TO FATE**

Montague was half-dragging Katie across the floor when he spotted Angelina and Alicia dancing on top of one of the dancing platforms. He rolled his eyes. _Gryffindors_. "Marcus, go tell Spinnet and Johnson to take Bell home."

Marcus scowled. It was one thing to rescue Bell from Higgs, whom he despised, but quite another to have to confront her tipsy friends. The last thing he wanted was to be hexed by a drunken witch in a muggle club.

"Do you want to take her home to Clarice instead?" Montague scowled back as he tried to rein Katie in.

"Fine," Marcus groaned as he began to approach the platform.

"Flint!" Angelina pointed at him wildly when she caught sight of his face, "You asshole. What are you doing here?"

Marcus rolled his eyes. It was obvious that Angelina was almost as drunk as Katie was. How she managed to stand on her rickety heels in that state he could not fathom, "Get down here," he managed to say.

"What if I don't feel like it?" Angelina swung to sling her arm over Alicia's shoulders, "We don't want to stop dancing."

Marcus scowled. _Gryffindors; the whole lot of them can't handle their alcohol properly_. "Get your arses down here. Bell is completely smashed. You're taking her home."

"Have you been near our Katie again?" Angelina asked crossly, tipsily making her way across the platform to glare at him.

Alicia followed, walking steadily as though she wasn't drunk at all. He nodded mentally in approval; there was definitely a reason he liked Spinnet more than Johnson.

"I will bloody hex you if you so much as lay a finger on her," Angelina glowered, poking his chest sharply with her index finger.

Marcus grimaced, "I haven't done a ruddy thing to her. In fact," he continued indignantly, "I've saved her from the biggest prat on the planet."

Alicia held Angelina back from launching herself at Marcus. Alicia's cool blue eyes met his own, "You'd better not be lying to us Flint; otherwise you'll be up for a rude awakening."

She leapt off of the platform, pulling Angelina after her, "Well," she said impatiently, "Why are you still standing here? Lead us to her."

Marcus sighed and began to walk towards the exit where he had last seen Montague.

After a few seconds, he stopped. why could he no longer hear Angelina screaming at him? He turned, and did a double take when he realized that Alicia had toppled to the ground.

_What the fuck_. He rubbed his forehead. He was getting one hell of a headache dealing with these girls. He reluctantly walked back to them, gingerly lowering himself to examine Alicia's condition. She was completely passed out. He sighed again in exasperation.

_Gryffindors_.

* * *

Meanwhile, Montague was having similar issues with Katie.

"Can I please have one more drink?" Katie pouted as Montague secured her by the entrance.

"No," Montague said firmly, folding his arms over his chest. He resolved to have a word with her when she was sober about the proper way of dealing with romantic problems.

Katie pouted, leaning against the wall in imitation of him. "Why are we standing here? I want to dance."

"We're waiting for Marcus."

"He's mean," Katie frowned unhappily, "I don't like him."

Montague rolled his eyes. Katie obviously had a tendency to act childish when she was drunk, "Marcus isn't mean."

"Yes he is," Katie pouted again, "He stole my bra from me."

Oh Merlin. Montague closed his eyes. What was Marcus playing at?

"Will you get it back for me?"

Montague sighed heavily. The bastard would pay for putting him in this awkward position, "I'm afraid you're going to have to ask him yourself, Bell."

The man they spoke of finally returned, panting heavily as he lugged Alicia's limp body towards them.

"Speak of the devil," Montague muttered to himself.

"They're both stone drunk," Marcus scowled and wrinkled his nose at the smell of vomit.

"I can see that," Montague drawled back, folding his arms over his chest.

"Am not," Angelina said thickly, her face looking pained.

Montague rolled his eyes at her. He looked at Katie, who was too busy examining the makeup that had wiped on to her fingers to notice her friends' presence.

"I don't think any of them are in any condition to go back to their flats if we even knew where they lived," Marcus sighed heavily, "Can you put them up at your place?"

Montague glared at Marcus, "You dragged me here and now I have to watch them?"

Marcus scowled back, "I'll stay at your place tonight. I don't think Clarice wants to see me anyways."

Montague frowned, "You'd better be the one who helps them to the washroom to throw up."

"Fine, fine," Marcus held up his hands in defeat though his expression remained one of disgust.

Montague sighed as they walked out of the club into the cool air, "I don't want to take them back by side-along apparation."

Marcus smirked, "Still scarred by when you were splinched?"

"Wouldn't you be?" Montague grunted as he helped Angelina stand properly.

"I'll call a cab," Marcus said after slowly deliberating. He shifted Alicia to remove a sleek phone out of his back pocket.

"When'd you get that?" Montague asked curiously despite himself.

"Hm?" Marcus asked absently as he waited for the company to pick up, "Oh I got it when our enterprises linked to some muggle companies. Ingenious tool, really."

Montague shook his head. Since the fall of Voldemort, things had really changed.

"Hi, can I get a cab to Club Eon," Marcus paused, "Yes, thank you. My name is Marcus." He hung up, "One of us will have to apparate back to your flat because the cab will only take four of us."

Montague blanched at the thought of riding in the muggle contraption. It had been years since his first car ride when he had thrown up violently, effectively ruining its elaborate leather seats, but ... "I think I should go back and get things ready. It's my flat after all."

Marcus nodded solemnly but then a mischievous grin lit up his face, "Sure it's not because of your driving incident?"

Montague cursed at him before disapparating. It really sucked to be friends with someone who had known you for almost your entire life.

Marcus sighed and looked at the three disheveled Gryffindors. This was going to be a bloody long night.

"Where's Montague?" Katie's lip quivered.

"He's getting his flat ready for you to stay in," Marcus explained with no small measure of amusement.

"I'm going to Montague's house?" Katie asked in interest.

"Yep," Marcus nodded, "We're all going to Montague's place."

"Like a sleepover?" Katie asked excitedly.

At that moment, Angelina chose to throw up.

_Perfect_. Marcus frowned as he quickly scorgified the mess. "You alright Johnson?"

Angelina glanced at him, "Don't talk to me. I feel sick."

Marcus shifted Alicia's weight on his back. She wasn't a particularly heavy girl, but carrying her for so long was giving his back a cramp.

"Oh thank Merlin," he said in relief as he spotted the cab he had called for, "Let's get going you two."

"I don't want to go," Angelina said stubbornly, "I'm going to throw up in that car."

Marcus scowled but obligingly shifted Alicia so he could get at a potion vial he always brought when he went out, "Here, drink it."

Angelina eyed it suspiciously. "What is it?"

"It's a potion to prevent nausea," Marcus explained patiently as he began to walk towards the cab, "I bring it with me whenever I go out for a drink."

Angelina wrinkled her nose when the scent of it hit her nostrils. "Disgusting."

"Completely," Marcus nodded in agreement as he slid Alicia's limp body onto the back seat.

"This had better not kill me," Angelina scowled as she downed the drink.

"Don't worry," Marcus replied dryly, "I think your boyfriend will douse me in hot acid if it does."

"True," Angelina said cheerily. The effects were almost immediate, her face quickly losing its pallor. Before she could marvel at the change, however, she drifted into deep slumber.

"Forgot to mention that it has a bit of sleeping potion in it," Marcus laughed silently as they sped down the empty streets.

"You're mean," Katie muttered as she watched the street lights dance by.

"But you love that about me don't you?" Marcus grinned at her.

"I don't like guys that are nothing but good looking," Katie scowled at him, "Montague is much nicer than you are."

"So you think I'm good looking," Marcus repeated in amusement. The compliment made him feel warm. It wasn't very often that he was genuinely complimented. He knew he wasn't the best looking wizard in the world.

"No," Katie shook her head furiously, "I didn't say that."

Marcus snorted, but decided to remain silent until they drew up in front of Montague's mansion.

"Thanks," he nodded at the cab driver, tipping him heavily.

"Not a problem," the driver tipped his hat at him, "Need any help with those ladies?"

"No, I'm fine thank you," Marcus nodded.

"I'll help him out," Montague's deep voice reverberated through the car.

"Can you carry Johnson?" Marcus asked.

"Sure."

The two of them carefully pulled Alicia and Angelina out of the car, coercing Katie into following them by promising her a tub of chocolate chip ice cream.

"Wow," Katie breathed as she walked into the front foyer of Montague's mansion, "You have a nice house."

"Thanks," Montague shrugged, "It belonged to my parents."

"Do you have a pool?" Katie asked excitedly, "I want to swim!"

Marcus rolled his eyes, "I think what you need is to drink some water and go to sleep."

"I don't want to," Katie scowled at Marcus.

"It's for your own good," Montague said agreeing with Marcus.

"Fine," Katie replied sullenly.

"Let's bring everyone upstairs first," Marcus frowned at Montague's and Katie's easy relationship.

"Good idea," Montague nodded, shifting Angelina to his other shoulder.

Katie walked between the two of them chattering randomly about zebras and martinis. Marcus and Montague attempted to seriously entertain her, but after a few minutes could only marvel about how long she was able to rant.

"Here," Montague nodded at a pale blue door, "Put Spinnet and Johnson in here."

Marcus wearily opened the door, depositing his burden onto the down bed nearest to the window. "Oh thank Merlin," he breathed in relief, "She was bloody heavy."

Montague rolled his eyes, "You need to exercise more."

"Hey," Marcus scowled, "I was the Slytherin quidditch captain at Hogwarts."

Montague looked at him skeptically as he lowered Angelina to the double bed nearer to the door, "When's the last time you played a proper game of quidditch anyways?"

Marcus leaned against the window with a frown. He couldn't recall the last time he had done anything other than the endless meetings and figures he had to work on, and the occasional dinner with Clarice.

"Exactly," Montague said pulling a cigarette out of his pocket.

Marcus raised an eyebrow, "You know how bad those things are for you?"

Montague shrugged, "It's a habit. Hard to break."

"Can I have one?" Katie's cheerful question pierced the silence.

"No," Marcus rolled his eyes at her, "You're going to bed right now."

Montague smiled around the cigarette that in his mouth, "Put her to bed, I'll get some drinks and see you in my study."

Marcus looked at Katie through the dim light that pierced through the window. She looked back at him. She blinked.

Marcus uncomfortably broke the silence, "Ready to go to bed?"

"I don't want to go to bed," Katie frowned.

Marcus rolled his eyes again and grabbed her arm to lead her into the bedroom at the end of the hall, ignoring her protests.

"I like this room," Katie beamed when he turned on the lights. The room was pale blue with a large fluffy princess bed in the middle of it.

"Good," Marcus said firmly, "Now go to bed."

He was about to turn off the lights when Katie said, "What about my goodnight kiss?"

"Excuse me?" He paused, one foot out of the door already.

Katie slid off of the silk bed sheets and walked towards him, "I said I want my goodnight kiss."

Marcus swallowed hard. Katie looked enticingly at him, pressing against his chest.

"No."

He turned and closed the door behind him. He leaned against the door, closing his eyes and breathing deeply, his heart thudding in his chest.

**Damn her. **


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: It's been a while since I last wrote anything for this site. I hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I enjoy writing it. Please R&R if you have the time!

Disclaimer: None of the characters depicted in this fanfic (except Clarice) belong to me - they are all products of J.K. Rowling's imagination.

* * *

**LEAVE LOVE TO FATE**

"Still up for that drink?" Montague's voice drifted up from the lower floor.

Marcus leaned shell-shocked against the door. Though he had always taunted her about finding him attractive, he hadn't expected tonight's events. Not at all.

"You alright?" Montague stood at the foot of the stairs, puffing on his cigarette.

Marcus wrinkled his nose at the smoke, "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well," Montague drawled, "You've never been one to refuse a drink."

Marcus laughed a little uneasily, her proposition still on his mind.

Montague frowned when he saw the look of unease flash across his friend's face. "What happened?" He asked, taking the cigarette out of his mouth slowly.

"Nothing."

"Right," Montague said disbelievingly, "Get down here."

Marcus closed his eyes tiredly but obeyed his demand. His feet felt heavy as he descended down the stairs. Maybe he did need a drink.

Montague took pity on him, slinging his free arm over his best friend's shoulder, "You'll feel better after a drink or two."

The two of them made their way to his study, where they immediately plopped down by the small bar.

"Very nice," Marcus always managed to admire the bar whenever he visited Montague's place.

"Thanks," Montague puffed on his cigarette.

"Mind putting that out?" Marcus grimaced as the scent of cigarette smoke hit his nostrils.

"Fine, fine," Montague rolled his eyes, "Waste of a good fag, though."

"I'm saving your lungs," Marcus replied.

"Whoever said I wanted them saved?" Montague asked lightly, pulling a bottle of whiskey down from its shelf.

Marcus rolled his eyes. It was impossible to elicit strong emotion from Montague at times. He dropped onto the leather seats by the shelves and looked around him. Little had changed since he first visited when he was a child.

"Want it straight? Or on ice?" Montague asked as he poured his own glass of alcohol.

"Ice, thanks," Marcus nodded at his friend in appreciation when he brought the glimmering gold glass to him.

"So what've you been up to lately?"

"Nothing, just business as usual," Marcus replied, sipping from his glass. The alcohol burnt pleasantly as it raced down his throat, "You?"

"Same old … renovating the house, looking for servants," Montague shrugged.

Marcus chuckled. Ever since the keeping of house elves had been banned, Montague had said he was looking for servants, but he had yet to find one. Marcus got the feeling that Montague enjoyed solitude.

"Just find yourself a wife to do all the cleaning for you."

"I think I'll stick with being a bachelor for now. It's an easier life."

Marcus nodded in agreement, "Wise decision, learn from your old friend's mistakes."

The two were silent for a moment, closing their eyes in appreciation as they downed their expensive drinks.

"Why Clarice?" Montague asked when he opened his eyes, "You can at least tell me that much, can't you?"

"Our mums were friends," Marcus said shortly, "We've been betrothed since we were children."

"Really?" Montague replied skeptically, "I don't recall you ever holding back in Hogwarts."

Marcus was silent, swirling the ice around his glass.

"Is it because your mum is in the hospital?"

Marcus scowled. Montague really didn't know a thing about subtleties, did he. "So what if it is?"

"Nothing, just wondering."

Marcus scowled at his friend's expression, "Like hell you were just wondering."

"I _was_ just wondering … where your thing for Katie Bell comes in," Montague shrugged complacently.

Marcus jolted out of his seat angrily, "I don't have to take this from you. We may be friends, but there's an extent to what you can and cannot say to me."

"Oh come on, Marcus," Montague rolled his eyes, "Don't take things so incredibly seriously all the time."

Marcus drew in a shaky breath, controlling himself. All of the emotions he'd been suppressing seemed to be bubbling to the surface.

"Marcus," Montague placed his cold hand over his shaking one, "Calm down."

Marcus drew in another deep breath, his mind slowly clearing as he sunk back into his seat, "Sorry."

"It's fine," Montague replied sipping his drink, "I understand."

"Do you really?" Marcus turned anguished eyes at him, "Do you really understand how I feel?"

Montague laughed shortly, "I understand about your mum, at least. My parents are long dead, but it's not like I've forgotten the feeling."

Marcus winced as he remembered. Montague's parents had been brutally murdered, their bodies slashed to pieces during the war by other death eaters. Montague had seemingly recovered quickly, but the haunted look in his eyes had never really gone away, "Sorry," he muttered again.

"Like I said, it's fine," Montague leaned back into his chair, "I'm just looking out for you is all."

Marcus looked at Montague from the corner of his eye. His friend had always been the type to try to forestall fate. "You doing alright lately?" he asked quietly, the remains of his anger fading away.

"I dunno," Montague shrugged, "Nothing's really changed. Time's just passing on as usual."

Marcus rolled his eyes, "Always the mysterious one, aren't you Montague."

"What can I say," a slow smirk spread across Montague's lips, "It attracts the ladies."

Marcus rolled his eyes again, "What do you want me to say to that?"

Montague looked at him seriously, "Nothing, but I do want you to decide what you want in life. You're my best friend and hell if I'm going to let you marry a witch that is completely not right for you."

"How do you know she's not right for me?" Marcus protested.

"Do you enjoy having her around? Do you want to spend time with her? I can tell that you can barely stand to hear her talking. Just admit the woman's a complete air head."

"The sex is lovely," Marcus interjected indignantly.

"So? Sex is always lovely regardless of the woman," Montague replied dryly, "Seriously, Marcus, I don't get why you're in denial about your interest in Bell."

"Let's see: it's just a physical attraction, I'm in a relationship with Clarice right now, my mother would hate if I was with Bell, and lastly, there's no way in hell she would ever be interested in me."

Montague groaned at his excuses, draining the last of his drink. "Physical attraction since your school days? You took her bra, for Merlin's sake! Can't you see how incredibly stupidly you're acting? And don't give me these excuses about your mum – she's not at all elitist. And of course she would be interested if only you would treat her properly," he finished in exasperation.

"You really think so?" Marcus asked quietly, "You really think she would forget all of the things I did to her in school, to her friends?"

"I do," Montague said firmly, turning to the bar to refill his glass.

"You have too much faith in people, sometimes," Marcus said even more quietly, "And even if she did forgive and forget, do you think I could forget about it? Do you think her family and friends could forget about it?"

Montague sighed, holding his glass against his forehead, "I just don't want to see you going down the wrong lane, marrying someone you don't love. You know how our parents suffered."

Marcus gripped his shoulder then let go. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Though Montague had been attempting to comfort Marcus, Marcus felt far from comforted. His friend had merely caused more questions to spiral about his head. But perhaps that had been his intent – Montague had always been a nasty bastard in that way.

"Want to get some shut eye?"

"Can I ask you a question first?" Marcus looked at his friend seriously.

"Sure," Montague nodded, placing his glass in the bar's small sink.

"Why do you care so much for Bell if it's not romantic?"

Montague leaned against the marble counter and sighed heavily. "I just feel bad for her, dealing with that bastard Wood. And I know you like her. Besides, something about her makes me want to protect that spitfire nature of hers. I also owe Lee," he added as an afterthought.

Marcus snorted. The one time he had joined Lee and Montague for a couple of drinks had been disastrous. The three of them had ended up kicked out of a brothel that they had somehow stumbled into.

"Any other questions?" Montague raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Not really, except … what were you talking about earlier when you said she was having enough of a rough time lately?"

Montague smirked, "Never thought you'd be one to remember fine details."

He stopped teasing when he saw Marcus' face darken. "Alright, alright. She just had a run in with Wood is all."

Marcus raised his eyebrows, "That's it?"

"How about we say it was a _bad _run-in … do you need it to be something more?" Montague asked as they left the room.

"Guess not," Marcus sighed.

"Are you planning on returning her bra anytime soon, by the way?" Montague raised his own eyebrows as he remembered what the drunken girl had mentioned to him earlier in the club.

Marcus snorted, "No way."

"Was it _that_ kinky, Marcus?" Montague asked in dry curiosity.

"No, they were just Slytherin-styled," Marcus grinned as they walked up the polished stairs to the second storey.

"Nice," Montague grinned back in appreciation.

"Very," Marcus said quietly to himself as he passed her bedroom door, "Very."


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I haven't updated in a while, but hopefully this chapter will make up for it. I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible! Be prepared for lots of conflict between Marcus and Katie. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and please R&R if you have time!

Disclaimer: None of the characters depicted in this fanfic (except Clarice, Francois, and Sophie) belong to me - they are all products of J.K. Rowling's imagination.

* * *

**LEAVE LOVE TO FATE**

Katie groaned as she touched her throbbing forehead. Her throat felt scratchy and her stomach felt like it was going to heave out its contents.

Stumbling into the adjoining washroom, she coughed and vomited into the pristine toilet, clutching its sides. She vaguely registered that it wasn't a familiar washroom, but before she could process this realization more thoroughly, the remaining contents of her stomach demanded to leave her body.

"Drink this."

Katie sighed in relief when a familiar purple potion was thrust under her nose.

"Thanks," she replied gratefully when she finished downing the potion.

"No problem," Marcus leaned against the door frame nonchalantly in the jeans he had worn the night before.

Katie flushed. She vaguely remembered making a fool of herself at the club and being sent to bed by Marcus, but seeing him in the flesh when she was not even a tad inebriated was grating on her nerves.

"Aren't you going to thank me?"

"No way in hell," Katie replied more out of habit and embarrassment than anything.

Marcus rolled his eyes at her, noting that her hair - while a mess, looked wildly seductive in a way that Clarice's perfectly wavy curls didn't.

Katie turned her face away from him, his keen gaze disturbing her, "Where's Montague?"

"Probably sleeping still. It's only 7 am."

"Why are you up then?" Katie asked coolly, picking herself up from the marble floor with a wince.

"I couldn't sleep so I went downstairs to find some food. I heard you, and here we are now," Marcus shrugged.

Katie hated how annoyingly arrogant his voice sounded even when he was making small talk, "Well, thanks for helping me out," she managed, "I think I'll be leaving now."

Marcus raised an eyebrow, "What about Spinnet and Johnson?"

Katie groaned as she realized she would have to remain in Marcus' presence for several more hours.

Marcus' eyes crinkled in amusement. Her expression of torment would normally have bothered him, but her obvious annoyance was too funny.

Marcus was surprised that despite the fact that Katie clearly remembered a great deal about what had occurred the night before, she evidently didn't remember her proposition. This relieved him for the most part, but a small part of him felt disappointed.

"Feel like getting some breakfast?" Marcus asked nonchalantly as he stretched his arms and cracked his back.

Katie winced at the loud snap and sharply responded, "With you? No."

Marcus' eyebrows furrowed downwards, "Don't need to be a bitch, Bell."

Katie bit back a retort, but felt rather guilty when she realized how rude she had been especially since he had bothered to help Montague bring her home and had given her a hangover potion.

"I'll buy," Marcus offered finally when she didn't reply.

Katie eyed him suspiciously, biting her lip. It couldn't hurt to grab a bite, could it? But did she really want to spend more time than necessary with Flint? Then again, she thought as she ran a hand through her hair, she didn't want to owe him any favours either.

"Can I order anything?"

"Fine," Marcus shrugged, "But we're going to Paris to grab food. I doubt anyone is open in Britain at this time of day."

"If I come, you completely forget about the incidents of the past two days."

Marcus shot her a look of mingled exasperation and annoyance, "Really, Bell?"

"Do you or do you not want breakfast?"

"Fine," Marcus rolled his eyes at how childishly Katie could behave.

"Okay. Get out," Katie quirked her head towards the door.

"I thought we just agreed that you're accompanying me to breakfast."

"I need to change, so get out!" Katie scowled at him, effectively convincing him to vacate the room as quickly as possible.

"Stupid Gryffindor," Marcus scowled as he left the washroom to put on his own clothes.

"I heard that, bastard!" Katie yelled through the noise of the shower she had just turned on.

Marcus grinned.

* * *

Katie grimaced when she glimpsed her reflection in a mirror that Montague had conveniently installed in the shower.

She sighed and brushed her teeth rigorously with her index finger. She hated the gross feeling she got whenever she forgot to brush.

Realizing that she had stood in the shower for long enough, Katie turned off the tap and dried herself with the thick, fluffy towels piled next to the shower stall.

She started when Flint banged his fist loudly against the door.

"Are you done yet?"

Katie glared daggers at the door, hoping that he wouldn't have the audacity to alohomora it open.

"I'm getting ready! Stop pounding on that door!"

Marcus rolled his eyes from outside. He had gotten dressed and showered in under twenty minutes. _Women_.

Katie rushed to throw on the green dress from the night before. It looked rather trashy to wear in the early morning, but she didn't have anything else to wear, and she would rather die than ask Marcus to find her something decent.

"Are you ready yet?" Marcus called impatiently again.

Katie rolled her eyes and threw the door open.

Marcus glanced at her appreciatively. He hadn't been able to admire her dress the night before, but it really did wonders for her figure.

"What?" Katie asked testily, pulling the hem of her dress lower.

"Nothing," Marcus shrugged, dragging his eyes away from her slender frame.

"Where are we going anyways?"

"To this bakery my mum used to take me to when I was younger," Marcus replied.

Katie was surprised at the warm tone he spoke of his mother. She bit her lip as she recalled what Hermione and Alicia had whispered.

"What?" It was Marcus' turn to question his companion's stare. Her gaze made him shift uncomfortably.

"Nothing," Katie responded, leading the way down the spiraling staircase.

"We need to apparate using side-along apparition so we don't get separated," Marcus hurried to keep up with her pace.

"Fine," Katie said with narrowed eyes, "But if you bring me anywhere indecent trust me I'll set Angelina at you."

Marcus looked at her incredulously, "You really think I'm capable of something like that?"

Katie felt her cheeks flush when she met his intense gaze. "No," she admitted reluctantly, "I guess not."

He felt a wave of relief wash over him, but he immediately stifled the feeling.

"Well, are we going or not?" Katie asked impatiently. If she was going to have to endure a morning with Flint, she might as well get it over with.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're bloody impatient?" Marcus asked in annoyance as he took his wand out of his back pocket.

"Yes," Katie replied sweetly, "But the last person who said that is no longer able to walk."

"Right."

"No, really."

Marcus rolled his eyes up towards the ceiling of the foyer and grabbed Katie abruptly, effectively jolting her out of their argument.

"Hey!"

* * *

The two of them spun and landed clumsily in what appeared to be a storage room.

"That wasn't nice, asshole," Katie grimaced as she staggered off of a bag of flour.

Marcus merely grinned at her.

A lanky blonde walked into the storage room at that moment, but instead of yelling at them as Katie had expected, he high-fived Marcus with a grin.

Marcus grinned back, "How are you François?"

"Not bad, not bad," the blonde pulled Marcus roughly into a hug.

"Haven't seen you in a long time," Marcus slapped François on the back resoundingly.

"That's your own fault, though," François mock-glared at his long-time friend, "Been too busy to slum with us, eh?"

Marcus rolled his eyes, "More like dying from too much work lately."

"And who is this?" François smiled down at Katie.

"Ah," Marcus said a bit awkwardly, "This is Katie Bell."

François raised an eyebrow, "I've always said you have good taste in women, my friend."

Katie blushed at the charming blonde's assumption, "Oh no. We're just ex-schoolmates."

"Pardon my mistake," François replied, bending to brush his lips against the back of her hand before picking up the bag of flour she had been standing on.

His lips curled up into a mischievous smile when he noticed the expression of distaste on Marcus' face.

"That's alright," Katie smiled, her cheeks red.

"François," Marcus asked as they followed him out of the storage room, "Are you still making that brilliant espresso?"

"Of course. I'll get Sophie to make you a cup."

Marcus blanched. François' younger sister had always had an annoying crush on him.

François noticed his expression and shrugged, "She just broke up with her lover, so she probably won't bother you."

"Hopefully not," Marcus replied dubiously.

Katie completely ignored their conversation, choosing instead to look around the almost empty coffee shop. The polished mahogany tables were small but gleaming and the smell of sweet pastries and strong coffee made her mouth water.

"Nice place," she remarked, nodding at François who had dropped the flour behind the counter.

"Thanks," he grinned, "It's been in the family for generations. I –"

"Marcus!" A willowy blonde interrupted, sweeping out of the kitchen to kiss him strongly on both cheeks, "I thought I heard your voice."

To Katie's surprise, Marcus didn't look happy to have the beautiful blonde hanging off of his neck.

"Hello Sophie, it's been a while," Marcus replied, prying her arms off of his shoulders.

"I know," Sophie smiled at him, "It has been too long."

"I've been busy," Marcus shrugged as he threw his coat on the back of one of the chairs.

"Too busy to see some of your dearest friends?"

"It wasn't a personal choice," Marcus shrugged again, throwing a helpless look at François.

"And who is this?" Sophie smiled at Katie whom she had just noticed, "Why you never told me you had a cousin, Marcus. She's adorable."

Katie glared at the taller woman. Her sickly sweet voice and condescending attitude rubbed her just the wrong way.

Marcus interjected before Katie could pull her wand out of her purse, "You know I don't have any cousins, Sophie. This is Katie Bell, a schoolmate of mine."

"I am so sorry! I just never realized, you looking so young," Sophie rushed to apologize.

Katie grimaced at her overdone lines. Why did Flint have the tendency to hang around such air-heads?

François took pity on Katie, "Sophie, Marcus wanted you to make him a cup of espresso."

"Oh you know you can make it better than I can," Sophie waved her brother off.

François rolled his eyes at Marcus and Katie, causing Katie to bite her lip to keep from grinning, "Sophie, Marcus wanted a cup made by you."

Sophie sighed, "Very well. I can't deny Marcus any of his wishes, particularly since this may be the last time we see him until we're all ancient."

Marcus opened his mouth to protest, but she swept out of the café and into the kitchen.

François grimaced, "Well so much for thinking that she would act decently."

Marcus laughed but stopped when he saw the expression on Katie's face, "Sorry, Bell. Sophie's always been a bit of a bitch."

Katie scowled, "All of your female friends tend to be."

Marcus shrugged. He couldn't deny that both Clarice and Sophie had left horrible impressions on Katie.

"So how long are you staying with us this time?" François asked, effectively steering the subject away from the current topic.

"I'm afraid I'm just here for breakfast, then it's back to the manor for me," Marcus replied apologetically.

"And you, Katie?"

"I'll be heading back with Marcus to his friend's place to pick up my hung over friends. Sorry I can't stay longer."

"That's alright," François smiled, "I've been thinking about visiting my girlfriend in Britain in a few weeks. I'll drop by and visit you."

"Sounds good," Katie grinned at him, moving to sit on the chair adjacent to Marcus.

"Here you go," Sophie placed the cup of espresso in front of Marcus, leaning forward so that her generous chest was directly in his view.

"Thank you," Marcus pointedly ignored her and turned back to François, "We should meet up to go bar-hopping then."

Katie smirked at the blonde's annoyed expression.

"Of course, I haven't seen your friend Montague in almost a year now. Or his friend Lee Jordan," François nodded.

Katie's eyes lit up at the mention of her friend and boss, "Oh you know Lee?"

"We've met a few times," François nodded.

"It's such a small world," Katie remarked, "Lee's a good friend of mine."

"We'll be dragging you along out with us then," François grinned at her.

Sophie pulled a face, but ignored her brother's friendliness to Marcus' "schoolmate". Before she could say anything to steer the conversation towards herself, however, a stream of customers entered the café.

"Bonjour," Sophie moved to greet them.

"Thank Merlin," Katie sighed in relief at her retreating back.

François laughed at her openness, "Don't like my sister?"

"Sorry," Katie replied shamefaced, "She was just getting on my nerves."

"That's quite alright. I can't stand to be around her sometimes too."

Marcus rolled his eyes, "Merlin, I know."

Katie raised her eyebrows skeptically.

"No, really," Marcus emphasized, sipping his espresso.

"Did you want anything to eat, Katie?" François asked, realizing that he hadn't offered the girl a bite.

"A croissant would be nice," Katie smiled at the friendly waiter, "Thanks so much."

Marcus sighed loudly when a stream of loudly chattering women walked into the shop, "Well there goes François. We won't be seeing him for the rest of today."

"Is he so popular with the ladies?" Katie asked curiously, as she gnawed on the croissant François had placed in front of her.

"What do you think?" Marcus asked raising an eyebrow.

Katie dodged the question by nibbling on her croissant.

Marcus stretched backwards, "Merlin, I wish life could always be this relaxing."

Katie raised her eyebrows skeptically, "You think your life is hard? You don't even need to work."

"It's hard work managing my estates and the enterprises," he responded, "You think I sit back and let my managers do all the work for me? Hell no, half of them are incompetent."

"Right," Katie scoffed.

"No really," Marcus insisted, sipping from the small cup again, "I work almost as much as those muggle lawyers."

Katie laughed, "I never imagined a day when the great Marcus Flint compared himself to a muggle."

Marcus rolled his eyes, "You've got some dreadful preconceived notions, you know that Bell?"

"I've got plenty of reasons to think badly of you," Katie retorted, biting the end of her croissant more vigorously than needed, "Let's see: you were an enormous prat at Hogwarts, you completely embarrassed me in front of my date a few weeks back, you stole my bloody bra, and you're disgustingly mocking whenever I see you!"

"Well that is a long list," Marcus remarked trying to sound less discomfited than he actually felt.

He hadn't actually intended to be so insulting when he saw her at the restaurant. The words had slipped out of his mouth out of habit, and it hadn't helped that he was bloody jealous of her old, ugly date. But it wasn't like he could tell her that!

"Well," he said instead, "I know I've been a right prat since we first met, but I mean we were young and stupid, right?"

Katie raised an eyebrow skeptically, "So what's your point Flint?"

"Who says I need to have one?" Marcus shrugged, "But I'm not the little arse I used to be. A lot of us have finally matured."

Katie laughed derisively, "Right. Maybe Montague has, but never you, Flint."

Marcus' gaze darkened. Montague this, Montague that. For all that he was his best friend, it was getting bloody annoying hearing Katie drop his name every few minutes. "Do you have a thing for Montague or something?" he demanded.

Katie flushed in anger, "I don't think that's any of your business."

"It is so my business," Marcus scowled, becoming more riled up by the minute, "He's my best friend and I don't want any half-bloods tainting him."

"Blood," Katie spat, "That's all you ever talk about! If Montague doesn't mind spending time with someone like me, I don't think you should have any say in it!"

"Fine! Go ahead and screw him. You'll only be ditched in the end. Maybe Wood was smart to drop you!" Marcus regretted the words as soon as they exited his mouth.

Katie's jaw dropped. Before she could help it, her eyes began to brim over with tears.

"Oh for goodness' sake," Marcus scowled at Katie, his chest feeling painful from remorse.

"Fuck you, Marcus Flint," Katie threw her napkin onto the table, "Fuck you and that stupid bimbo you call a lover. I wish you would just – Go. To. Hell!"

With that she spun on her heel, shoving Sophie roughly aside as she exited the café, hot tears searing down her face.

Marcus slumped onto his seat, his hands clenched. What had he done?


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I'm excited to write the next chapter - expect a twist in the plot that will completely change the entire story! By the way, thank you so much for the reviews. I don't know the proper etiquette to replying to them, but I'd like you all to know that I really appreciate all of your comments. Please continue to support/motivate me by leaving a review if you've the time! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: None of the characters depicted in this fanfic (except Clarice, Francois, and Sophie) belong to me - they are all products of J.K. Rowling's imagination.

* * *

**LEAVE LOVE TO FATE**

Marcus stared out the window blankly, completely ignoring the stares and whispers of the other occupants of the café.

"You okay?" François asked gently.

"I'm fine."

"Really?" his long-time friend asked skeptically.

"What do you think?" Marcus retorted, clenching and unclenching his fingers.

"_I_ think you need a drink," François replied dryly.

Marcus laughed a bit hollowly, "Isn't it a bit early in the day for alcohol?"

"Nah," François shook his head, "Besides, I think you need it."

"Sophie," François said loudly.

Sophie jolted away from the counter she was leaning against in surprise, "Yes?"

"We're going back to my flat, I'll see you later."

Sophie made a face at her brother, "Fine."

"Thanks," François nodded at her, then turned to Marcus, "Come on."

Marcus pulled himself out of the chair resignedly.

The two of them apparated to François' flat in silence. Marcus leaned against the door as François rummaged for his keys.

"What do you feel like drinking?"

"I don't care."

François frowned at Marcus' tone, "Okay, I'm calling Montague over."

"No!" Marcus grabbed at his friend's forearm, "Don't call him."

François scrutinized Marcus' expression, "You know you're being an asshole, right?"

"Screw that," Marcus glared at François, his anger flaring again as he threw his feet onto François' coffee table.

"Thanks," François said dryly, pulling a bottle of wine out of his wine cooler.

"I know I'm a bastard. Deal with it," Marcus ranted as he grabbed for a glass of wine.

"That you are," François said mildly, "Sorry to say, but you've got to really fix your priorities."

Marcus glared at François from under his eyebrows as he sloshed the wine around in its glass.

"That's no way to treat a decent wine," François rolled his eyes at his friend's temper.

"Yeah, yeah," Marcus muttered, but he put the glass down and removed his feet from the tabletop.

François sighed loudly, "You're a right idiot sometimes."

Marcus grimaced at him, "Shut the hell up."

"Fine," François replied coolly, running out of patience, "Be that way."

"Wait," Marcus said tiredly before François left the room, "Wait, I'm sorry."

François paused, and looked at his deflated friend, hunched over his glass of wine. "You've got to do something about that temper of yours."

"I'm sorry," Marcus repeated.

"It's okay," François let out his breath loudly, "I heard about your mum, I understand. But you can't take it out on everyone around you. They might be your friends, but if you keep hurting them …"

Marcus raised his eyes to the ceiling, "I know, I know"

François laughed at his friend's tone.

Marcus sighed, "I really messed up, huh."

"Yeah," François nodded as he moved to perch on the seat beside Marcus.

"I didn't mean to be so bloody offensive … I was just …" Marcus looked at his hands as though they were unfamiliar to him.

"Just frustrated?" François suggested when Marcus failed to come up with a word.

"Jealous, and confused," Marcus blurted.

"Care to tell me what about?" François asked, calmly draining the dredges of his wine glass.

"I mean, I felt so bad seeing her rush away like that," Marcus said incomprehensibly.

"I can understand that," François nodded, using his wand to refill his glass.

"But I mean, she's not even my girlfriend. And Merlin, Clarice …" Marcus' voice trailed off, "What am I supposed to tell Clarice?"

"Why's there any need to tell her anything?" François questioned him, "It's not like you slept with her, Marcus."

"True, but I –," Marcus stopped. Why did he feel like he'd somehow betrayed Clarice?

"You've got more pressing issues," François said sternly, "What about Katie?"

"I don't know," Marcus' shoulders slumped, "I have no idea right now. Should I even try to apologize? It's not like she's my girlfriend or anything like that. I've got Clarice, and that's all I should need."

"Ah," François smiled lightly, "Should. That's the word. Clarice is all you SHOULD need."

Marcus scowled, "What's with all of you and harping on my fiancée?"

"I'm sure she's lovely," François hurriedly backtracked, "But don't your feelings for Katie show that perhaps you might not be in love with Clarice?"

Marcus laughed derisively, "Marriage isn't about love, Francois. That's just a French notion. Marriage has never been about love."

"That's where you're wrong," François replied, choosing to ignore his slur against his nationality.

"Huh," Marcus snorted into his wine glass.

"Really, Marcus," François said, suddenly impatient, "Please, for once let some sense enter that hard head of yours. You have feelings for Katie Bell, you've none for Clarice Beaumont. Either go with Katie, or forget her completely. As things are, you're hurting both of them."

Marcus ruminated, holding his glass up to the light, watching the droplets glitter.

"What've you decided?" François asked, noticing the change in his friend's expression.

Marcus turned to meet his eyes, "I'm engaged to Clarice, I'm hurting Bell … the answer's obvious isn't it?"

François wanted to punch him resoundingly. That was not the choice he had intended for Marcus to make when he had lectured him. He sighed at Marcus' determined expression.

"Thanks for your help, François. Great wine, by the way," Marcus picked up his jacket and slung it over his shoulder.

"Thanks," François leaned against the doorway, "You sure about your decision?"

Marcus stopped, indecision crossing his face, "Yeah, yeah I am."

François sighed as he softly closed the door behind his friend. Hopefully he knew what he was doing.

* * *

Katie ran blindly, disgusted with herself for running away two days in a row. She ran on and on, not even realizing that she could disappear with the flick of her wand. Ignoring the angry outbursts of the pedestrians who swarmed the sidewalks, Katie rushed through the streets of Paris.

_How dare he. How dare he!_ Katie's chest felt like a knot of mortification and hurt.

She ran into a park, collapsing by a fountain, her throat choked up.

She didn't care that the passer-bys were shooting fretful looks at her. All she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and forget that men even existed.

Katie sobbed for what felt like ages. It felt good, relieving herself. She had never really been able to cry after The Incident. Once she felt the tears subside, she blearily looked at the clock tower in the distance.

Upon realizing it was almost noon, a sense of dread slid over her. She did not want to see Marcus again. Ever. And yet she had to return to Montague's mansion, where he could be at this very moment.

She sighed resignedly, and wiped her eyes on the backs of her hands. Her friends were more important than anything, and damn if she was going to do something just because of Marcus. Her gaze hardened as she apparated.

* * *

"Katie!" Alicia burst out when she saw Katie walk into the sitting room in Montague's mansion.

Katie felt a wave of relief wash over her when she realized Marcus was not at Montague's mansion. She hurried through the halls into a sitting room where she saw Angelina, Alicia, and Montague sitting rather pleasantly together without bickering. Montague even seemed to be smiling. Of course, this was all before they caught sight of Katie's tear-stained face.

"What happened?" Angelina asked, wincing as she moved to get off of the plush seat.

"Still have a hangover, Angie?"

"Yes," Angelina grimaced, "But that's not the point. What happened to you?"

"Nothing."

Montague grimaced mentally. François had updated him on what had occurred in Paris, but he hadn't expected Katie to look almost as bad as after her encounter with Wood the day before. Marcus was such an idiot.

"I'm fine," Katie shrugged off her friends' concern.

Alicia and Angelina exchanged a look. Obviously there would be no fun salon day as they had planned earlier.

"No, really," Katie insisted, seeing their incredulous expressions.

Montague scrutinized Katie's expression. "Spinnet, Johnson, can I talk to Bell for a minute alone?"

Before Angelina could protest, Alicia nodded, grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room.

Marcus waited until the mahogany doors closed before speaking. "What did Marcus do this time?"

"Nothing," Katie said dully, feeling ill at ease at being alone in a room with Montague after what Marcus had insinuated. She couldn't even look him in the eyes.

"Really?" Montague asked skeptically, crossing the room to stand in front of her.

"Yes," Katie mumbled, staring out the window behind him.

"Oh come on, Bell," Montague frowned, "Marcus and you were missing in the early morning, now you're in tears. It's obvious something happened."

"Really," Katie insisted, "He just said the usual. I'm just feeling sensitive because of yesterday."

Montague rolled his eyes at her stubborn refusal to disclose what had happened between the two of them, but didn't say anything, choosing instead to examine her expression in silence.

It was Katie who broke the silence. "Why did you tell him?"

Montague started at her sudden question, "Why did I tell him what?"

"About me and Oliver."

"He asked," Montague replied simply.

"I thought it was something you were going to keep to yourself," Katie said accusingly.

"I didn't tell him what happened, just that you and Wood had a spat," Montague said, pulling out a cigarette.

"Oh, stop smoking," Katie said in annoyance.

Montague rolled his eyes but stowed the unlit cigarette away, "Just forget about him, Bell."

"Just forgive and forget?" Katie asked incredulously, "You don't even know what he said to me."

"Oh I think I've got a pretty good idea," Montague replied dryly.

"I'd like to just forget about him, but the universe seems to be against me. He shows up everywhere I see him."

"I doubt that'll happen anymore," Montague said stiffly, thinking of Marcus' decision.

"Really," Katie replied crossly, "And how can you be so sure of that?"

Katie was more than a little annoyed with Montague for giving Marcus the fuel to insult her. She felt hurt, especially since she had genuinely trusted him. Of course, she thought bitterly, she should've expected them to be chummier with one another than with her, a despised Gryffindor.

"I just am," Montague said, shooting her a pained look, "Look, I know Marcus was a complete arse and Merlin, I can only guess what he said to piss you off so much, but take my word when I say to just forget about Marcus. Go back to living your own life, forget about everything."

"Fine," Katie said, her gaze hard, "I will. Let's just forget that this truce between us ever existed."

Montague stared after her as she stomped out of the room, whipping the door open, and slamming it with a resounding bang.

"Let's go," Katie grabbed her alarmed friends' arms.

"Wait," Alicia stumbled to keep up with Katie's pace, "What happened?"

"Nothing," Katie growled, gesticulating with her wand sharply.

Angelina frowned at Katie in concern. Her emotions had been completely haywire over the past few days.

"I'll see you back at my flat," Katie scowled as she disapparated away, leaving her two friends behind, feeling more alone than she had in a long time.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: This is actually the second time I've written this chapter. The first time, it somehow failed to save. I apologize in advance if this chapter is not as good as some of my former ones, since I was rushing to re-type it and annoyed with myself for not saving it properly. Thanks again for all of your reviews. I read all of them and try to take your suggestions into account when I write my new chapters. Please continue to support me by leaving a review if you have the time.

Disclaimer: None of the characters depicted in this fanfic (except Clarice, Francois, and Sophie) belong to me - they are all products of J.K. Rowling's imagination.

* * *

**LEAVE LOVE TO FATE**

Katie walked into her office on Monday morning feeling somewhat resentful of the past two days. She was not looking forward to being asked how her weekend had been by her overly friendly co-workers.

After making a less-than-graceful exit from Montague's mansion, she had refused to explain what had happened to Alicia and Angelina, choosing instead to indulge in a large container of ice cream. It had made her feel much better than any ranting could have, though her meticulously flat stomach had not thanked her.

"Morning Katie!" Demelza Robins smiled at up at her cheerfully. Demelza was fairly new to the department, having transferred from working as a sports reporter for the Prophet a few years ago.

"Morning, Demelza," Katie pasted a smile on her face, "Is Lee in yet?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Demelza said as she flipped through the agenda she kept on her desk.

"Okay, thanks," Katie collapsed onto her chair, kicking her spiked heels off.

Katie felt a bit unnerved when she noticed Demelza peeking at her as she crossed the room to put a stack of files on Lee's desk.

She raised her eyebrows at her and asked her a bit more sharply than she had intended, "Do you need something, Demelza?"

"No," Demelza jumped slightly in surprise, "No, it's nothing, Katie."

Katie looked at her for a second more, but decided to ignore the girl's strange behaviour.

"Morning Demelza, Katie," Zacharias Smith walked into the room, dumping his lunch onto his desk.

Katie frowned when she saw him. Though he wasn't as arrogant as he'd been during their Hogwarts days, he continued to make snide comments about just about everyone when he got the chance.

"Morning Zacharias," Demelza smiled cheerfully up at her current crush.

"Morning," Katie murmured, pretending to be busy with the files on her desk.

She looked up when she felt him staring at her, "What?" she asked impatiently.

"Nothing," Zacharias smirked.

His satisfied expression made Katie want to slap him, but her more rational side held her back.

"Hello, everyone," Lee called cheerfully to his employees, as he swept into the room with a donut in his hand.

"Morning Lee," Katie smiled up at her boss.

"Hi," Zacharias looked up from his typing to nod coolly at the head of the department.

"Good morning Lee," Demelza rose to hand Lee a sheath of papers with red auror stamps on them.

"Merlin," Lee shook his head in disgust at the papers as he gnawed on his donut, "Okay, thanks Demelza."

"No problem," She smiled at him, returning to her desk.

"Oh bloody hell," Lee cursed when he spotted Zacharias' copy of the Daily Prophet on his desk, "I forgot to grab the Prophet this morning."

"Here," Zacharias tossed Lee his newspaper, which Lee barely managed to catch.

"Thanks," Lee nodded at him in slight irritation. The bloke still irked him even though technically, Lee was supposed to exercise impartiality when it came to his employees.

Katie looked at the newspaper, remembering that she had forgotten to renew her subscription to it. She made a mental note to do so as she returned to addressing the pile of invoices on her desk.

The next hour passed peacefully, though Katie had caught both Demelza and Zacharias shooting several glances at her. She had grown so self-conscious after a while that she had made several trips to the washroom to examine her face and teeth.

"Katie, can you please come into my office?" Lee asked, when she'd returned from her third trip to the washroom.

Katie looked warily at the small workspace that Lee worked in. His voice sounded off.

"Coming," she bent to hand Demelza a pile of forms she had filled out and walked into Lee's office.

"Yes?" Katie looked at Lee, who seemed to be engrossed in one of the pages of the Prophet.

"Close the door, will you?"

Katie turned and shut the door softly behind her, "What's wrong?"

"Have you seen today's copy of the Prophet?"

"No, I haven't," Katie replied in confusion, "I haven't been subscribed to it for about a month now."

"Here," Lee handed her the thick paper.

Katie gasped when she saw the glaring bold headlines: Ex-Chaser Chasing after French Beauty's Fiancée?!

She skimmed the article in shock. The author had rendered her into a total gold digger with a grudge against the well-liked French socialite. It contained a quote from Terrence Higgs, who had apparently seen the two of them 'cozying up' in a bar, as well as photos from their disastrous breakfast the day before.

Katie collapsed onto the seat in front of Lee's desk, "This is complete bullshit."

"Just thought you'd want to see it," Lee replied, tapping his fingers furiously on his desk.

Katie couldn't say anything. She was too busy trying to sort things out in her mind.

"Actually, I got a message from the minister just now Katie," Lee broached the subject uncomfortably when the shock seemed to subside from her expression, "He's good friends with Clarice, and he asked me if I knew anything about it."

Katie was aghast, "Are you bloody serious?"

"I think you should take the next week or so off, let the rumors die down. Clarice has a lot of fans and allies in the ministry. They might make things difficult for you otherwise," Lee sighed as he gently pried the paper from her stiff fingers.

"But that's so unfair!" Katie burst out, "This whole article is a complete lie! Isn't it obvious?"

"Of course. It's total nonsense," Lee reassured her, "But people who don't know you might be eager to think it's true."

Katie clenched her fingers. She had hoped that she could live without ever seeing or thinking of Flint again, but now this had cropped up. Someone, or something was bearing a terrible grudge against her.

"Do you want me to call someone for you?" Lee asked kindly, as he chucked the newspaper into the trash.

"No, Angie and Alicia are busy at their jobs," Katie replied morosely.

"I can get Montague to come," Lee offered, having found out that the two of them were getting along.

Katie shut her eyes tightly and pinched the bridge of her nose. She really doubted that he would care to see her given her outburst the day before, but there was honestly no one else who could give her better a perspective on the issue, "Sure."

Lee nodded and moved towards the fireplace in his office, patting her shoulder as he passed her. He used his wand to light the fireplace and threw a handful of glittering powder into the flickering fire.

"Hey Montague," Lee grinned as Montague's hovering head appeared amidst the dancing emerald flames.

"Lee," Montague's grin faded when he noticed Katie in the background.

Katie forced her lips into what she hoped was a reasonable imitation of a smile, "Hi Montague."

Montague looked at her impassively for a second before turning back to Lee, "What's the problem?"

Lee moved to grab the paper from his otherwise empty waste bin. He folded it in half and lowered it so that the headlines faced Montague. Montague quickly skimmed the page, his brows furrowing deeper as he read on.

"Can you put up Katie at your place for about a week or so?" Lee asked when he'd ascertained that Montague had finished reading the article.

"Actually," Lee paused, as he chucked the paper into the trash again, "Could you pick up her stuff too? I'm sure her flat will be surrounded by reporters right now. There's no way she can get in there."

"Sure," Montague nodded without hesitation, "I'll be by in an hour or so to pick her up."

"Alright, thanks," Lee nodded.

Montague looked at Katie for the first time since he'd appeared, "It'll be okay, Bell."

Katie smiled tightly, however, the knot that had tied itself in the pit of her stomach loosened slightly.

He nodded at Lee and Katie before the flames shimmered back to red.

"Well, that's settled," Lee sat back into his seat and folded his hands over his stomach, "You just finish whatever you can and then go home with Montague. I'll let Alicia and Angelina know."

"I don't want to just leave you all for a week," Katie protested.

"Oh we'll get by without you," Lee grinned at Katie, "I'm sure Demelza will be able to handle it, but if she can't, I've been wanting to keep Zacharias overtime for a while."

Katie laughed at Lee's obvious dislike of his employee. She was surprised at how much better she felt after doing so.

"Anyways, get out of here," Lee waved his hand, "Before Demelza and Zacharias start annoying me."

Katie turned to see what he was talking about, and was met with the sight of the two of them staring unabashedly into the office. She glared at them. Katie felt her temper spark as she watched them pretend to work diligently when she knew that in reality, they were really wondering if the rumors were true.

She glowered at the newspaper that was sitting innocently in Lee's garbage and pointed her wand at it, causing it to incinerate immediately.

Lee raised his eyebrows at Katie's display of annoyance, his lips twitching in amusement, "Feeling better?"

"Yes," Katie said fervently, which caused Lee to laugh.

"Anyways," she continued with a sigh, "I'm going to go back to work and finish as much as I can before he gets here."

Lee nodded as she stood and opened the door, "Let me know before you leave."

"Sure," Katie replied as she strolled back into the office area, staring hard at her co-workers. She observed their stiff shoulders with a petty sense of satisfaction.

The next hour passed; thankfully, without any more of her co-workers' curious stares. She'd managed to immerse herself so deeply in her work that she was startled when she heard someone knock at the door.

"Hi," Demelza stood and greeted Montague, "Can I help you with something?"

Katie felt her lips quiver with hidden laughter when she saw the look of discomfort on his face. However, upon realizing that he'd come to pick her up and would likely drag her out of the office in minutes, she furiously returned to completing as much as she could before being forced to leave.

"Montague!" Lee slapped him resoundingly on his shoulder in delight after leaving his office to see what the commotion was about.

"Lee," Montague grinned back , sinking into their typical banter.

"Haven't seen you in a while. How's the renovating going?"

Montague shrugged, "It's going alright - bit slow, but I've got the time."

Lee rolled his eyes, "Merlin, you don't know how jealous I am that you don't have to work."

"You'd be bloody bored if you didn't have to."

"True," Lee grinned, "Did you replace your bar yet?"

"No, and even if I did, I wouldn't be getting them to install it at your place," Montague retorted, amused at Lee's perpetual attempts at snagging his antique bar.

"Yeah, yeah. You done your work Katie?" Lee asked as he remembered the reason his friend was visiting in the first place.

Katie could feel all of the occupants of the room staring at her in interest. Her face flushed.

"Almost," she replied without looking up.

Lee rolled his eyes and muttered to Montague, "She's such a workaholic."

Montague stifled a grin, "Come on Bell, I haven't got all day."

Katie sighed loudly in exasperation, "Fine, fine."

She grabbed her sweater and dumped the pile of papers on Demelza's desk, "Just stamp these for me, and send them out when you have the time."

"Sure," Demelza nodded, wondering at the relationship between the ex-Slytherin and Gryffindor.

"Alright. I'll see you later, Katie. You too, Montague. We need to go out for some drinks soon. It's been a while," Lee smiled at the two of them and pushed the door firmly shut before either of them could reply.

Montague shook his head at Lee's antics. "Let's get going, then."

Katie walked next to him awkwardly, aware of all the stares that she was getting from the other workers that were hurrying down the corridor.

"Just ignore it," Montague said as he glared at one of the particularly audacious workers who had stopped in the middle of the hall to full-on stare.

Katie bit her lip before blurting out what she'd had on her mind all morning, "You know you don't need to take me in. I can just go to Angelina's or Alicia's place."

Montague raised an eyebrow at her, "Their flats are already swarming with reporters who want their opinion on your 'secret relationship' with Marcus."

Katie groaned quietly. Angelina was going to kill her the next time they met.

"Besides," Montague continued, ignoring her groan, "I've got plenty of spare rooms for you to stay in, and I've already risked my neck sneaking into your apartment to grab some clothes for you."

Katie winced mentally at the thought of Montague pawing through her underwear drawer trying to find clothes for her to wear. Despite that, though, she felt oddly grateful to him, particularly since he seemed to have taken what she'd said to him the day before with a grain of salt.

"Thanks, Montague," Katie said finally .

"It's no problem, Katie," he replied nonchalantly, using her given name for the first time since they'd met.

Katie was startled to feel her cheeks redden slightly. As she looked at Montague from the corner of her eye, she wondered if fate had not steered her in the right direction after all.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: It's been 2 years (I think?) since I last updated, but I felt that in lieu of all of your wonderful reviews and constant support, I should continue this story. I also felt it was high time that I gave Katie and Marcus a bit of happiness after landing them in the most awkward of situations.

I feel my writing style has changed, and I'm still re-familiarizing myself with my characters, so if this chapter feels choppy, I apologize. I believe that this story will be around 30 chapters in total, so I hope you'll stick around for the rest of this journey!

And as always, none of these characters belong to me except Clarice, Francois, and Sophie.

* * *

"And this is the kitchen," Montague waved his hand vaguely at the south-most room in his mansion, "I don't have any servants right now, but I'm sure I can have a few recommended to me if y–"

Katie shook her head adamantly, sending her loose curls flying. "Oh _no_. No."

"Are you sure?" Montague chuckled at her reaction. He hadn't really expected her to reply in the affirmative, but it was good to know she wasn't going to take advantage of his wealth during her extended stay.

Katie rolled her eyes at him after realizing that he'd been making fun of her, "Positive."

Montague laughed again and tapped his cigarette, sending ashes careening to the floor. "Really though Katie, just think of your stay as a sort of holiday. I will most likely be out most days, but you're free to do whatever you like."

Katie sighed and rubbed her nose, "Listen, Montague, this is really very decent of you."

"Not really. Just doing a favour for an old chum."

Katie peeked up at him through her lashes, "I guess, but it's not like I have the best track record when it comes to being a good houseguest."

Montague sighed and leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms deliberately. If they were going to have a go at living together for a few weeks, he needed to clear the air since she was clearly uncomfortable with the situation. "Look, everyone has their bad days. I'm not the type to hold grudges for something like that."

Katie tried to smile with little success. "That doesn't make what I said excusable. I know you and Flint have been good friends for years. I didn't have any right to accuse you of anything."

"I know Marcus well, Katie," Montague took a drag at his cigarette, "And I know firsthand how frustrating he can be, but he means well. He puts his foot in it every once in a while, and I'm not asking you to forgive him, but I'd like for you to at least try to understand. You of all people know how hard old habits are to break. I can honestly say he wasn't trying to hurt you in any way. He's just going through a rough time."

Katie stiffened involuntarily at his defence of his friend but nodded grudgingly. "I suppose you're right. But despite everything, I can't find it in myself to want to see him again, let alone forgive him."

"Well that's your right. And I'm not judging you for it. I just want you to understand: if I resented you for your behaviour yesterday, I would never have agreed to put you up. Anyways" He cleared his throat, " I need to head out and deal with some paperwork. Will you be able to find your room again?"

Katie laughed, "That's a difficult task, but I think I can handle it."

Montague nodded, butted out his cigarette on a silver ashtray and with a parting smile, apparated away.

Katie leaned back against the wall and pressed a cool hand to her forehead. What had she gotten into? It seemed that ever since she had first spotted Flint again, her life had done nothing but spin out of control. She sighed again and trudged back to the polished mahogany staircase.

She slowly dragged her feet up the stairs towards the direction of the west wing of the mansion, far from the guest room she had stayed in the night before. Perhaps Montague had figured that it would be best considering everything that had happened in it. Her new room was simple and shaded by a poplar that waved its branches outside of the floor-length window.

Katie opened the drawers one by one, and ran a hand over the clothes Montague must have filled them with. It didn't bother her that he'd been through her drawers anymore, especially since he had treated the idea of cohabitation as completely normal and platonic. Truth be told, she felt a twinge of annoyance that he hadn't taken even the most tentative step in a more romantic direction.

She sighed and lowered her gaze to the pile of clothes she was rustling through. There was the silk dress she had bought for Angelina's celebratory banquet when their team had won the World Cup, and here was the worn pair of jeans that made her butt look better than any pair of expensive pants she'd bought since then.

She smiled vaguely and closed the drawers firmly. All of a sudden, she remembered the reason for her stay and leapt into the pristine bed, wrapping the covers around her shoulders as she stared passively at the wall, trying to block out all thoughts of anything Flint-related.

* * *

"Marcus." He felt a clawed hand dig into his bare shoulder, "Marcus, wake up."

Marcus opened his eyes reluctantly to see what strange breed of bird had latched onto his skin. As he groggily sat up, he met the blazing eyes of his buxom lover.

"What the hell is the meaning of this?" Clarice gesticulated harshly at a thick sheaf of newspaper, her hair curlers swaying in disarray.

Marcus rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and let the sheets pool to his waist, "What are you harping on about, Clarice? It's too damn early in the morning for this. Lord, tell me this isn't something about the fruit platters."

"Oh don't pretend you're innocent," she snapped back angrily as she thrust the paper at him, "Look at this."

Marcus raised the paper to his face gingerly and grimly scanned the front page, his jaw tightening as he read onwards. His brows twitched as the photograph of Katie rushing off in tears repeated over and over again. Damned wizard photographs, he swore mentally.

Clarice tapped her foot on the wooden floorboards impatiently, "Did you even think about how shameful this makes me look? Didn't you think about my reputation at all? God, Marcus, I'm in the midst of planning the biggest bash of the year and you go drag my name through the mud."

"Listen, Clarice," Marcus tried to placate her, "This is all a misunderstanding. You know how the Prophet is, especially that Rita Skeeter bitch."

Clarice pursed her lips and leaned closer to him, her fingers digging into the sheets inches from his crown jewels, "I don't want to hear your excuses, and I don't care if that Skeeter woman is a bitch or not. I care about the fact that you let yourself get photographed with that little slut. I'm the laughingstock of wizarding Britain now!"

"God, Clarice," Marcus snapped back, "Pull yourself together. You're beautiful and vivacious and everyone in Britain is smitten with you. Yes, I did just fucking say "smitten. I will, of course, send Smithy to the Prophet to discuss the possibility of suing for slander, but there's nothing I can fucking do about what's already happened. I haven't even snogged Katie, much less shagged her, so stop bloody complaining about this, and get back to harping about place settings."

Clarice sneered at him, her face becoming ugly in her anger. She stormed towards the door and turned round, flinging a thick book precariously near his head. "You think I fucking care about your relationship with this Katie Bell bitch? PAH. Everyone knows you're envied only because I'm on your arm. You go ahead and sleep with any whore that you like, Marcus Flint, but don't you go soiling my reputation."

Marcus stared at the doorway dumbfounded with rage and disgust. Their conversation left a sour taste in his mouth. He'd always been aware of Clarice's avarice and vanity – I mean who wasn't? But he hadn't thought cruelty was in her nature. And he planned to marry this harpy of a woman whose only concern was her reputation! Merlin's beard. He flopped back onto his pillow, his eyes glazing as thoughts of their marriage reminded him of his mother, frail and white in a hospital that was no haven to her.

His fingers clenched against the sheets, crushing the flickering Prophet.

"FUCK!"


End file.
